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.
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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.
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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
