Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since I tabled the document I referred to in my Member's statement earlier today on potentially establishing a basic income guarantee in the Northwest Territories, have ECE staff considered the Alternatives North proposal? Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Frame Lake. Minister of ECE.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, certainly the department has had the opportunity to review the Alternatives North report and definitely appreciates the insights found in it. It certainly is worth stating that in the last little bit here, income assistance has increased its investment in its programs through the income security programs by $5 million as well. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I am glad the department has looked at it. Mr. Speaker, as I noted in my Member's statement, the report seeks to turn down thresholds and ensuring income assistance does not disincentivize work. If I had more time for my statement, I would have mentioned this is something that's happening to constituents of mine.
Will the Minister commit to reviewing the report and the recommendations in it and potentially changing our turndown thresholds to decrease the amount of disincentivization going on. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, as part of the review to the income assistance policies and legislation regulations was the ability of residents to actually keep more earned income as well as increasing what qualified for unearned income. So there is an ability of residents to keep up to $350 a month of unearned income and then for earned income, so that would be as a source of employment, it's $500 plus 25 percent of their paycheque. So there is right there up to $850 plus that residents are incentivized to earn through other mechanisms, including through employment. There's also direct connections from income assistance to things like training opportunities, things like pathways to employability programming, programming like our student financial assistance that leads to diplomas and certificates and degrees, and so certainly wanting to make sure that we're increasing those pathways for residents for the type of opportunities they're looking for. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Final supplementary. Member from Frame Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that what I need to emphasize from the report is that they did research on what levels would disincentivize work, and I think we're well below them, and so that's where I think the report could be valuable. And, really, Alternatives North was recommending that the government build upon this research. It's a beginning, not an end that they're suggesting. So would the Minister commit to reviewing the report and the recommendations, building upon that research, and coming back to the Assembly with proposals for changes to income support that would help it stop disincentivizing people from pursuing gainful employment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are always, as a government, so not just education, culture and employment, looking for ways to incentivize employment and create opportunities. That is a priority of mine in my role with both my industry hat and my education and training hat on and so certainly for that, the Member has my commitment. As far as the shift from income assistance to something like universal basic income, that would be a very big shift for the entire Assembly, and I would want to make sure that I have the support of the entire House for a shift like that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Oral questions. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
