by Jenna van Draanen | Sep 24, 2016 | News
The Canadian House of Commons Finance Committee recently solicited submissions in their pre-budget consultations to give the public the opportunity to provide input in the development of the 2017 federal budget.
The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) made a submission to the Finance Committee in August that urged the committee to consider creating a basic income that would be, “universally available to Canadians in times of need.” The four-page submission covers what a basic income is, what kind of basic income BICN is advocating for, and why basic income is so urgently needed in Canada.
Three specific recommendations that BICN provides in its submission are:
1) Take immediate steps in the direction of a basic income for working-age adults using federal refundable tax credits and other means compatible with the model of benefits for seniors and children;
2) Undertake a thorough review and exploration of ways, in the context of fair and effective taxation as well as poverty reduction strategies, to fully realize a basic income for everyone;
3) Cooperate with and support basic income initiatives of other orders of government, including by fostering public dialogue, consultation, analysis and policy development as this is in the interest of all Canadians.
To read more about this submission see:
Roderick Benns, “Basic Income Canada Network urges support of basic income in House submission.” Leaders and Legacies. August 9, 2016.
For the original document submitted to the House of Commons Finance Committee, see:
Sheila Regehr, “Submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee”, www.basicincomecanada.org, August 3, 2016
by Denis Flinn | Sep 19, 2016 | News
The Revenu de base Québec group is hosting several events for International Basic Income Week: September 19-25, 2016 in Québec, Canada.
Starting Monday, September 19, there will be events in both Quebec City and Montreal, with the week culminating in a non-partisan Forum of Ideas highlighting basic income (that we have already written about here). Events include:
Temiscula: September 19 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm,
Conference: “A basic income please”
At: 612 Avenue Principale, Dégelis, Québec
Quebec: September 20 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm,
A cine-talk on the topic of basic income
At: L’Accorderie; 151A, rue Saint-François Est, Québec
Montreal: September 21 at 12:15pm,
Jurgen de Wispelaere lecture: “Basic Income and the Exit Fallacy (or Keeping it Real in Theory and Practice)”
At: University of Montreal
Montreal: September 21 at 6:30pm,
A cine-talk on the topic of basic income
At: 2000 boulevard Saint-Joseph Est, Montreal
Montreal: September 22 at 6:00pm,
A discussion of basic income at Le Sainte Elisabeth pub
At: 1412 Rue Sainte Elisabeth, Montreal
Montreal:
September 23 – 6:00pm to 9:30pm
September 24 – 8:00am to 5:00pm
September 25 – 8:00am to 11:15am
Forum of ideas for Quebec – Various topics
More details on all of these events can be found here or visit the website or Facebook Page for the group.
by Kate McFarland | Sep 18, 2016 | News
The fourth Forum des Idées Pour le Québec (“Forum for Ideas for Québec”) will take place at Champlain College from September 23 through 25. It will focus on social policies–including a special session devoted to the idea of a guaranteed minimum income (GMI) for Canada and Québec.
Organized by the provincial Liberal Party, Parti libéral du Québec, the Forum des Idées Pour le Québec is an annual nonpartisan gathering, featuring lectures and panel discussions on major social and political issues facing the province.
Philippe Couillard CC BY-SA 3.0 Asclepias
The head of the provincial government, Premier Philippe Couillard, will be present for the event. Couillard has made a promotional video for the event, which highlights its attention to the GMI.
The session on GMI, which is scheduled for September 24, will feature four highly prominent basic income researchers and advocates:
- Yannick Vanderborght, Professor at Université de Louvain and Université de Bruxelles, associate editor of Basic Income Studies and founding editor of Basic Income News.
- Jurgen de Wispelaere, a visiting researcher at the University of Tampere who has worked on the design of Finland’s basic income experiment and written extensively on basic income.
This session will be chaired by Jean-Marie Bézard, vice-president of the Forum Scientific committee and Director of Plénitudes, Prospective & Management.
Other issues to be addressed include poverty, inequality, pay equity, and coordinating social interventions across a territory.
Visit the event page for more information. Registration is limited, and typically sells out weeks before the event.
Two public discussions of guaranteed minimum income and universal basic income will take place in Québec in the following week (September 27 and 28).
Reviewed by Jenna van Draanen
Québec flag photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Mathieu Thouvenin
Thanks also to my supporters on Patreon
by Kate McFarland | Sep 13, 2016 | News
The Centre justice et foi (CJF, “Center for Justice and Faith”), a Montréal-based center for social analysis, is hosting public discussions on basic income on September 27 and 28.
The goal of these discussions is to shed light on common questions surrounding basic income and related policies. One important issue to be addressed is the difference between the policies typically called universal basic income (UBI) and guaranteed minimum income (GMI). Under a guaranteed minimum income, all individuals are eligible to receive an unconditional “top-up” of their earnings to guarantee that their total income is above a certain threshold (such as the poverty level). Receiving the top-up would not be conditional on working or looking for work. However, in contrast to the way in which UBI is commonly described, the payouts of a GMI would be “clawed back” with higher earnings. Individuals above a certain income level would not receive the GMI. (Depending on the accompanying tax policies, a UBI and GMI could result in an identical income distribution.)
Much of the discussion surrounding “basic income” in Canada has centered on GMI: the much cited Angus Reid poll, released in August, asked specifically about a GMI; Hugh Segal’s latest remarks indicate that the pilot in Ontario will investigate a GMI. Notably, this was also the type of policy tested in Dauphin, Manitoba in the oft-referenced Mincome experiment of the late 1970s.
Other questions to be addressed include the following:
- Would the implementation of such a policy justify cuts to important social programs?
- How would the policy impact the private sector?
- What consequences would a UBI or GMI have on the job market?
Although perhaps eclipsed by Ontario in media coverage, Québec has also shown considerable interest in basic income (or guaranteed minimum income), and might be moving toward testing or implementing such a policy. Earlier in the year, François Blais was appointed as Québec’s Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and tasked to work on developing a guaranteed minimum income plan for the province.
The first CJF event will be held on Tuesday, September 27 in the Cultural and Environmental Centre Frédérick-Back in Québec, and feature three speakers: Sylvie Morel (Professor of Industrial Relations at Université Laval), Serge Petitclerc (political analyst and spokesman of the Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec), and Eve-Lyne Couturier (researcher at the Research Institute of Socioeconomic Information).
The second event will take place the following evening at Montréal’s Bellarmine House. Petitclerc and Couturier will again be participating, in addition to Marie-Pierre Boucher (Professor of Industrial Relations at Université du Québec en Outaouais).
See the event flyer for details concerning the time and location. Both are free, although a donation is suggested.
Reviewed by Cameron McLeod
Translation help from Jenna van Draanen and Denny Flinn
Photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Meriol Lehmann
Shout out to Kate’s supporters on Patreon
by Kate McFarland | Sep 11, 2016 | News
The Northern Policy Institute of Ontario has organized a conference to explore the idea of a basic income guarantee. The conference will take place in Sunbury from October 5-6.
The BIG Conference defines a “basic income guarantee” (BIG) as “a payment to eligible families or individuals that ensures a minimum level of income” — or what is sometimes referred to as a “guaranteed minimum income” (GMI) or “guaranteed annual income” (GAI). The government of Ontario has been moving forward to test such a policy, with a trial set to begin by April 2017. No location has yet been announced for the trial.
Charles Cirtwill, the founding President and CEO of the Northern Policy Institute, takes a favorable view of BIG, although he believes that more trials of the idea are necessary. Last March, he wrote an article arguing that it would be advantageous for Ontario to stage its pilot in one of the small Northern communities (“The North a great place for Basic Income Pilot“). On August 4, he spoke to CBC News about BIG and the upcoming experiment in Ontario (“Is guaranteed income the future to helping the poor in northern Ontario?“).
Cirtwill is one of the speakers at October’s BIG Conference. Additional speakers include the following:
- Gayle Broad (Assistant Professor in the Community Economic and Social Development program at Algoma University).
- Lindsay Tedds (Associate Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria), a supporter of a GAI.
- Adam Patrick (masters student at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University). Patrick has previously worked as a Policy Intern for Northern Policy Institute, where he examined the effectiveness of existing welfare programs in Northern Ontario.
- Christine Yip (Policy Associate at the Mowat Centre, School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto).
- Michael Crawford Urban (Policy Associate at the Mowat Centre, School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto).
- Evelyn Forget (Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba). Forget is well-known in the basic income community for her analysis of the Mincome experiment in Manitoba, a 5-year trial of a GAI conducted in the 1970s. Forget’s current research focuses on the consequences of anti-poverty programs for health and society.
- Valerie Tarasuk (Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto). Tarasuk has recommended a guaranteed annual income to alleviate food insecurity.
More biographical information about the speakers is available on the BIG Conference website.
Registration for the conference is open through September 16.
Press announcement:
Sudbury Staff, “Sudbury conference to explore guaranteed income“, The Sudbury Star; August 5, 2016.
Reviewed by Cameron McLeod
Photo CC BY-NC 2.0 Billy Wilson
Shout out to Kate’s supporters on Patreon
