Group wants governments to consider basic personal income in Nova Scotia
HALIFAX — High poverty rates and reliance on food banks are evidence the time has come to consider a basic personal income system in Nova Scotia, say advocates.
The Basic Income Guarantee Nova Scotia group pitched the idea Wednesday at the provincial legislature, saying the province needs to work with the federal government on a feasibility study to see what can be done as part of an effort to reduce poverty.
The group’s chairwoman, Dalhousie University professor Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird, pointed out the concept of a basic income was one of 15 policy resolutions adopted by the federal Liberal Party at its national convention in Halifax last month.
“Research has shown that a basic income is affordable, but provinces cannot do it alone,” said Kay-Raining Bird.