Federal government 'willing to explore' proposed guaranteed basic income pilot on P.E.I.

A federal government minister has indicated it is open to talking about a guaranteed basic income (GBI) pilot with the province of Prince Edward Island.

An income guarantee is a cash transfer paid to adults whose income falls under a certain threshold. In the fall, a group of researchers, economists, civil servants and political leaders from across the country produced a report that said P.E.I. would be an ideal testing ground for such a program.

It also outlined how a pilot project would work on P.E.I., including administering payments through the tax system like other income-tested programs, including the GST rebate or Canada Child Benefit.

The province supports the idea, but has said such a program would also need the federal government on board as a funding partner. 

A letter tabled in the provincial legislature on Wednesday is being viewed as an encouraging sign, though it stopped well short of agreeing to co-fund a pilot.

"Anything that we can get at this point will be good for us. We are just looking forward to moving ahead on the assessment that we'd like to do," said Social Development Minister Barb Ramsay, who tabled the letter from Jenna Sudds, the federal minister of families, children and social development. 

"It's a step forward, isn't it? It's just nice that we're communicating now," Ramsay told CBC on Wednesday.

Last fall, Ramsay met with Sudds, in addition to corresponding with her. Premier Dennis King also raised a proposed GBI pilot directly with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"The federal government would be willing to explore the creation of a working group … with the intention of exchanging federal-level administrative, survey and tax data and information in support of P.E.I.'s work to evaluate a GBI," Sudds wrote in her letter to Ramsay.

"While I appreciate that this may not fully address the request to participate in a joint Canada-P.E.I. working group on a GBI project with the broad scope outlined in your letter, I hope that this offer of information-sharing is helpful."

In 2020, the Special Committee on Poverty in P.E.I., an all-party committee of the legislature, urged the province to begin immediate negotiations with the federal government to help fund a basic income guarantee program.

Before that, long-time advocates like Marie Burge had championed the idea, arguing the intrinsic link between poverty and wellness. 

"There's a lot of information that we have to gather, and we really appreciate the coalition and the work that they've done on the proposal, but we just want to go ahead and do our own assessment and make sure Prince Edward Island is the place for a basic income guarantee," Ramsay said.

"Personally, I think it's a huge step,"