The Quebec Civil Liberties Union is sounding the alarm over the state of economic and social rights in the province, saying living conditions have deteriorated and challenges facing Quebecers have intensified in recent years.
Representatives of 20 civil society organizations gathered Thursday for a news conference to release their 2026 assessment of economic and social rights in Quebec, examining how the state of those rights has changed since 2020.
“We know that voices of various sectors in Quebec are growing louder to tell us that living conditions are deteriorating,” said Laurence Guénette, a spokesperson for Quebec’s Civil Liberties Union. “The challenges are not new, but they definitely have been accelerating and have intensified in the last few years.”
The assessment examines several areas, including the right to housing, health care, social security and an adequate income, the right to work and to dignified working conditions, access to food and education, and the right to a healthy environment.
The group says government action, and what it describes as a lack of action, over the past several years has played an important role in the state of those rights.
“We do put a lot of emphasis on the actions, and the lack of action, of the government during the past few years,” Guénette said.
The organization is also calling on candidates from Quebec’s political parties to take economic and social rights into account during the election campaign.
“We strongly call the candidates of the different political parties to take into account these human rights and become conscious of the responsibilities that the government has regarding the rights of everyone in Quebec,” Guénette said.
The civil liberties group says it released the assessment during the election campaign to remind political parties that the Quebec government has an obligation to ensure the realization of these rights.
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