Voluntary Declaration Program

Under the Voluntary Declaration Program you can correct your situation and benefit from relief measures with respect to the consequences of your misrepresentations.

Participating in the Voluntary Declaration Program

You can participate in the Voluntary Declaration Program if you are receiving or have received financial assistance under the "Individual and Family Assistance Act".

More specifically, you can use the Program if you:

• Failed to declare your actual situation (in whole or in part) to the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale
  or
• Provided an incomplete or incorrect statement about your situation

Eligibility

In order to qualify for the Program, your voluntary declaration must be spontaneous, complete and verifiable.

You must:

• Make the declaration before the Ministère has begun or is about to begin a verification or investigation of your situation
• Declare facts or omissions that have never been the subject of control measures
• Provide all the required information about your situation (address, marital and family status, property, liquid assets, income, etc.) for the period covered by the declaration, and the information must be verifiable
• Provide all the documents required to study your application

If you are found to be eligible for the Program but the Ministère later discovers that your declaration was not spontaneous, complete or verifiable, the decision can be cancelled. In such a case, the relief measures granted will be withdrawn. Generally, it is only possible to take advantage of the Program once.

Relief measures

Under the Voluntary Declaration Program, you can benefit from certain relief measures:

• The recovery charge of $100 that is usually applied in the case of misrepresentation will not be applied.
• The interest on the debt will be calculated as if there had been no misrepresentation.
• The minimum repayment required to reimburse the debt will correspond to that required where there is no misrepresentation ($56 a month for financial assistance paid monthly and $13 a week for assistance paid weekly).
• In the case of work income, the exclusions for work employment will be applied. This could reduce the amount claimed back from you.
• The Ministère will, on its own initiative, renounce its right to present the file concerned by the voluntary declaration to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.
  

Contesting a decision

If we find that you are not eligible for the Voluntary Declaration Program, you can apply for administrative reconsideration, within 30 days from the date on which you received our decision. You can use the Application for Administrative Reconsideration form (PDF, 348 KO) specifically for that purpose.

Administrative reconsideration decisions are final and cannot be appealed.

If you wish to contest a decision rendered with respect to a claim for repayment of benefits or a reduction or cancellation of your benefits, you can apply for review. You can also subsequently appeal to the Tribunal administratif du Québec. (Title III, Chapter III of the "Individual and Family Assistance Act")

Contact us

For more information about the Voluntary Declaration Program, see the Cadre normatif (PDF, 459 KO) (French only). You can also call 1-866-750-1055 or 418-644-0187 (Voluntary Declaration Program) or 1-877-767-8773 (Centre de communication avec la clientèle).

To apply for the Voluntary Declaration Program, use the Voluntary Declaration Program form (PDF, 469 KO) specifically for that purpose.