VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The British Columbia government is considering the implementation of a basic income to reduce poverty in the province.

Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson says the government is consulting with Ontario and other jurisdictions on its plans for a pilot project testing if the idea would improve health, housing and job prospects.

Simpson says the government is also setting targets and laying out a timeline in an attempt to cut the poverty rate with a series of public consultations in 20 communities to help develop its plan.

The minister says the consultations will also allow the government to identify causes of poverty and approaches to reducing the number of poor.

The NDP made poverty reduction one of its key election promises last spring after years of labelling the former Liberal government as cold-hearted for rejecting plans to reduce one of the highest child-poverty rates in Canada.

Simpson says recent statistics show BC has the highest poverty rate in Canada, with 678,000 people living in poverty.