Synopsis

Life on the Cheque is a feature-length documentary film that profiles six remarkable mothers who are living in poverty in Kingston, Ontario. The women tell their personal tales of adversity and misfortune: growing up poor, surviving abusive relationships, coping with mental illness, and navigating support systems that fail them. These women share a passionate and eloquent analysis of social injustice in Canada. They are united by their shared reliance on a government social safety net that is full of holes, and a cold bureaucratic welfare system that fails to deliver on its promises.

The film will follow the women through their daily lives, highlighting their hopes for a better future for their children, and their struggles to overcome the obstacles that keep them from escaping poverty. Meet Pam, who has overcome experiences of sexual abuse and a mental breakdown to become a personal support worker and a passionate advocate for the poor; Sytina, currently training as a cook at a catering company, who dreams of opening Kingston’s only soul food restaurant; Summer, who has learned to live on a welfare income after fleeing her abusive partner and leaving behind a suburban housewife’s life; Alison, who found roadblocks at every turn when she tried to get a better education and a job; Debbie, who can’t imagine how she’ll ever escape life on the cheque; and Sophie, whose fear of having her daughter further stigmatized by poverty agrees to participate in the film only if her identity is concealed. The stories of these six insightful women are a powerful indictment of Canada’s tattered social safety net, and a compelling call to action for change.