CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. <\/p>\n
Two organizations that serve marginalized people said they support a basic income guarantee pilot in P.E.I. but said such a program should not replace existing supports for people facing addictions and mental health issues.<\/p>\n
The leaders of the Native Council of P.E.I. and the Upper Room Hospitality Ministry offered their thoughts and recommendations on the possibility of a basic income guarantee to members of the legislative standing committee on poverty on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The committee is tasked with providing costed recommendations related to a basic income pilot on P.E.I.<\/p>\n
Basic income is an experimental anti-poverty policy that would give a cash payment to all individuals who earn below a certain amount, regardless of whether they already have a job.<\/p>\n
Lisa Cooper, president of the Native Council, and Matthew MacDonald, a policy analyst, offered recommendations related to off-reserve and non-status Indigenous people on P.E.I.<\/p>\n
We are now the most impoverished, more impoverished than those that live on-reserve. And this is often forgotten in most programming, be it in P.E.I. and in Ottawa,\" Cooper told the committee.<\/p>\n
\"The funding doesn't seem to come to us.\"<\/p>\n
MacDonald said individuals facing addictions and mental health issues would need additional supports if they received the basic income payments.<\/p>\n
\"Without proper supports in place like timely access to mental health and addictions support, such individuals, participants in the proposed project may be at risk of endangering their health with a new source of income,\" MacDonald said.<\/p>\n
MacDonald said the specific barriers faced by off-reserve Indigenous people should be kept in mind.<\/p>\n
He referred to a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found that the federal government had a duty to recognize the treaty rights of non-status people, or Indigenous people who may not be a registered member of a band.<\/p>\n
Cooper and MacDonald recommended that a basic income pilot be offered to individuals within the age group of 18-64, that it consider people from diverse and marginalized backgrounds and that the model be a negative income tax model.<\/p>\n
This means it would be offered to people who earn below a certain amount. Both also suggested community organizations be directly involved in recruiting for the pilot and offered the services of NCPEI for this purpose.<\/p>\n
Mike MacDonald of the Upper Room Ministry also said a basic income program would benefit low-income individuals he sees every day.<\/p>\n
The organization runs a soup kitchen that serves 12 meals a week, as well as a food bank.<\/p>\n
But MacDonald also cautioned against looking at basic income as a replacement for other social services, such as mental health and addictions counselling, housing supports and education programming.<\/p>\n
Basic income is not the only answer, but its certainly part of the answer, MacDonald said.<\/p>\n
MacDonald said he believes such a program should be offered for people living in poverty throughout P.E.I.<\/p>\n
He said having a cash payment that would help people take care of their food and shelter needs would relieve a lot of stress.<\/p>\n
MacDonald said his organization tends to offer support to many individuals within the age range of 18-64, but also said some as young as 15 are also fed.<\/p>\n
He said he has noticed an increase in recent immigrants accessing services and said this group accounts for about 15 per cent of his clients.<\/p>\n
Stu.neatby@theguardian.pe.caTwitter.com<\/a>\/stu_neatby<\/p>\n <\/p>\n View original post here: <\/p>\n P.E.I. groups say basic Income should not replace addictions, other supports - The Journal Pioneer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. Two organizations that serve marginalized people said they support a basic income guarantee pilot in P.E.I. Continue reading