Manitoba Liberals would raise minimum wage, create poverty-fighting programs

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont Lamont speaks to media outside the legislature after the provincial throne speech was read at the Manitoba Legislature in Winnipeg, Tuesday, November 21, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG - Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont says he would increase the minimum wage and develop programs to fight poverty if his party were to win the Sept. 10 provincial election.

Lamont says Manitoba has some of the deepest poverty in the country with 71,000 people on welfare.

He says that within two years, he would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current $11.35.

He says he would revamp the province's employment and income assistance, which hasn't increased the social housing allowance for more than 20 years.

He would also create a voluntary jobs program that would pay unemployed people to do jobs in the public interest as an alternative to taking unemployment insurance.

Lamont also says he would base minimum basic income on a "negative income tax" model to top up people's income.