Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.
That is exactly the right question. In fact, evaluation needs to be taken into consideration at the start of any demonstration project and throughout it. That is absolutely critical.
What we often think of when we think about the evaluation with basic income is more the behavioural component: How will it impact our labour force participation? What impacts will it have on the lives of individuals? All of these are very important. That would require looking at quantitative data in partnership with Statistics Canada but also doing a good qualitative analysis that is independent and taken throughout the process.
Importantly we should not overlook the opportunity to understand the interaction between the provincial programs and federal programs that you would have with a full provincial P.E.I. program. That would really be key to this evaluation. I think that whether or not eliminating poverty would be to the benefit of our economy and society is no longer in question. We know that there would be many benefits for individuals, communities and families from eliminating poverty from our society to ensure that everybody has enough to meet their basic needs, no matter what.