The co-chair of Poverty to Prosperity in Huron says a basic income system might be the effective way to eliminate poverty.
Pam Hanington was one of the guest speakers at last week's Sustainable Huron meeting.
"When people are living on the essential welfare rate, which is less than $700 a month, they can't afford to do anything," says Hanington. "They're actually almost forced to do nothing because you can't afford to participate. You can't afford to go out and meet people, you can't afford to get involved with community activities, you are simply stuck at home."
She explains a Basic Income System as a no-string attached transfer payment to individuals who are living below the poverty line and is not related in any way to the employment of those people.
"But the one the province is testing right now, so after the basic income floor, they would be able to keep a certain amount of money and then after a certain amount keep 50% of that. So it's not a disincentive to work it is an incentive to work," says Hanington.
Hanington says there are several estimates of the cost of basic income as opposed to our current welfare system and most of them indicate that we currently pay a lot of money for the administration and policing of the current system.
A basic income system would eliminate that and in the end save money.