Kristina Nairn

Northumberland Today

Income is a key factor that affects our health and well-being.

Low income – or poverty – can lead to many problems. When people do not have enough income to pay for basic necessities such as food, housing and other goods and services, they are more likely to have health problems and die younger than people with higher incomes. In Northumberland County, we see how poverty takes a human and social toll that hurts the community and leads to higher health care costs.

The old ways of reducing poverty do not work, and new approach is needed to fix the problem. Thankfully, the Ontario government has taken a major step forward with the announcement of a Basic Income Guarantee pilot project (www.ontario.ca/basicincome) starting later this year in Hamilton/Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay.