A Basic Income for Nunavut: Addressing Poverty in Canada's North

Abstract

Using individual-level tax filing data, we simulate basic incomes for Nunavut. We identify basic incomes that are feasible within Nunavut's budget and that deliver the greatest poverty reduction for the lowest cost. We find that Nunavut could implement a small basic income using savings from the elimination of Nunavut tax credits and income assistance. Given the low tax base in Nunavut, a more generous basic income would require federal funding. A basic income could mitigate concerns such as food insecurity but would not eliminate the need for programs such as housing nor completely cover harvesting costs. The current Nunavut income assistance program requires that recipients participate in “productive choices.” Similar conditions, which are often conditions of Indigenous basic incomes, would be difficult to implement in a basic income administered through the tax system. We discuss this and other aspects in the context of Inuit principles.