Skip to content

B.C. taps researchers to explore how basic income could work in the province

The NDP government promised to implement a basic income pilot in its agreement with the Green party
12587753_web1_180223-ABB-income-tax-return_1

British Columbia has asked a team of experts to explore how providing people with a basic income could work in the province.

University of British Columbia economics professor David Green will chair the committee of researchers from Simon Fraser University and the University of Calgary.

RELATED: B.C. VIEWS: Our poverty reduction plan is already in place

The province’s minority NDP government promised to implement a basic income pilot in its agreement with the Green party caucus, allowing it to take office.

A basic income usually refers to a payment to eligible people that ensures a minimum income level, regardless of employment status.

RELATED: B.C. seniors’ poverty rate highest in Canada

The committee will explore the feasibility of a basic-income pilot in B.C. and create simulations to look at how various basic-income models would work with the province’s population.

It will also examine how basic-income principles might be used to improve the existing social-support system, as well as how the labour market is expected to change in the coming decades.

The Canadian Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.