Basic income being considered by B.C. gov’t

VICTORIA — British Columbia is planning to introduce a pilot program that would give some residents a basic income in what will be part of a series of legislative strategies to fight poverty, the minister in charge said Monday.

Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson said his government wants to test the effectiveness of providing people with a basic income to reduce poverty, improve health, employment and housing prospects.

The NDP government is consulting with other jurisdictions that have similar programs.

“We’ve been talking with the province of Ontario about their work,” he said at a news conference announcing the B.C. strategy. “We’re also talking to people in diverse places such as Glasgow, Scotland and Oakland, Calif., where they are doing this work, too. I expect to have more to say about how we proceed with that in the new year.”

B.C. currently has the highest poverty rate in Canada based on the federal government’s Market Basket Measure indicator which includes the costs of food, clothing, footwear, transportation, housing and other expenses for a family with two children.

Simpson said it’s estimated 678,000 people live in poverty in B.C., including 118,000 children.

The NDP made poverty reduction one of its key election promises last spring after years of labelling the former Liberal government as coldhearted for rejecting plans to reduce one of the highest child-poverty rates in Canada.

Simpson appointed 27 people, including poverty advocates, academics and First Nations members, to an advisory group that will provide insights and guidance as the government prepares to introduce its reduction strategy and legislation next spring.

He said the dates and locations for a series of public consultations will be announced shortly.

“The end result of this, we hope, will be a complete poverty reduction strategy next year,” Simpson said. “I look forward to hearing from British Columbians who believe this is an issue that we need to challenge and who believe we need to reduce inequality, and reducing poverty is a fundamental step in that.”

He said the poverty issue cuts across all communities and statistics indicate that 40 per cent of those in poverty have low-paying jobs.