By Patrick Penner
Port Moody is advocating for the province to test universal basic income (UBI) as a way of tackling poverty.
On Tuesday, council endorsed a wide-ranging list of requests to be sent to B.C. Premier David Eby as well as the minister of housing, the minister of social development and poverty reduction, the Lower Mainland Local Government Association, and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
The motion, introduced by Couns. Amy Lubik and Samantha Agtarap, contended the province’s current poverty reduction strategy lacks concrete plans to reach its lofty targets.
Lubik said that, while Port Moody does not hold the levers of power, the least it can do is advocate for change.
“Wealth inequality manifests as health inequities and also costs us a great deal on human suffering level, but also on the health care system,” she said. “This is something that we think needs to be at least tested in B.C.”
The BC NDP introduced its poverty strategy in 2019, which has expanded welfare, child care, tax credits, and increased the minimum wage. In March, 2024, it set new targets of reducing poverty by 60 percent, child poverty by 75 percent, and seniors’ poverty by 50 percent over the next decade.
However, the motion states that child poverty, at-risk seniors, homelessness, and the reliance of foodbanks is increasing.
The motion calls for social and disability income assistance to be raised to a minimum of 75 percent of the poverty line to target “deep poverty,” which impacts 50 percent of citizens living in poverty.
Lubik said that one in 10 residents live in poverty, and those on basic assistance are often below the 50 percent poverty line threshold
Her motion, quoting BC Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), stated that the rates for social assistance remain well below the poverty line, where people have to navigate clawbacks and restrictions which make escaping poverty “nearly impossible.”
Other requests in the motion include reinstating poverty-reduction grants for local governments; eliminating welfare restrictions; timelines to reduce deep poverty; food security strategies; and Indigenous and senior-specific strategies.
B.C.’s poverty strategy is currently lacking any financial support for local municipalities, but past grants have demonstrated significant benefits.
Lubik pointed out its previous grants, now discontinued, enabled food security coordination work through Tri-Cities Food Council.
“Poverty looks different in every community, and local governments are closest to the people, so we know where the gaps are,” she said.
All these recommendations have been advocated for by the CPA, the Poverty Reduction Coalition, the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner, as well as health professionals, according to Lubik, noting they are policies which have been shown to work.
Lastly, the motion also called for the province to introduce a basic income pilot program into the strategy, calling it a quick way to address food insecurity and entrenched poverty.
Lubik said that many peer-reviewed studies on UBI, in Canada and abroad, have demonstrated it can be effective.
While she said detractors argue it will encourage laziness, studies have shown it healthy and stabilizing for an economy, helping residents secure better jobs and become more entrepreneurial.
Agtarap added there are financial benefits too, such as relieving cost pressures related to homelessness and healthcare.
She said that while poverty reduction is the province’s wheelhouse, local governments are dealing with the immediate effects of poverty.
“We need to do something,” Agtarap said. “It’s sad to me that we’re even in this position of having to ask.”
Couns. Kyla Knowles and Callan Morrison were hesitant about Port Moody stepping outside its jurisdiction, but were generally supportive of the motion.
Morrison, however, voted against the inclusion of UBI in the request, stating it was a separate topic to the other policy recommendations.
“The basic income thing is a huge discussion, I believe, and it doesn’t just encompass this one scenario,” Morrison said. “If that goes down that road, it’s going to be far more than just the Poverty Reduction Strategy that would be involved.”
The resolution was also forwarded to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for inclusion in its 2025 conference, the Federal Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development requesting a federal review, and Port Moody MP Bonita Zarrillo.
