Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says action needs to be taken by the current government to address the rising cost of living and inflation.

He is calling on the province to look at increasing the income threshold to allow for more people to apply for provincial grants.” any financial support that is available from the provincial government should be indexed to inflation so that community service support is kept up with the cost of living so people can make ends meet.”

Churchill says now is a good time to have a discussion on developing a basic income for Nova Scotians. He doesn’t believe the current system of community service support is keeping up with the needs of people. “It’s also disincentivizing many able-bodied people from getting back to the work force at a time when we have a labour shortage, that system needs to be modernized and I think looking at a guaranteed income model needs to be part of that conversation.”

The liberal party is also calling for an increase to the minimum wage to $15 an hour to keep up with the cost of living and to address labour shortages.