by Josh Martin | Jan 24, 2016 | News
In 2014, the Liberal party passed Policy Resolution 100, pledging to create a “Basic Annual Income” for Canada. Brean’s article discusses this resolution in context of the Liberal party’s recent electoral success and plans for the current government. By providing thorough context of the basic income movement and support in Canada—from recent publicity in Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and other places as well as the research conducted by Evelyn Forget at the University of Manitoba on the “Mincome” experiment in the 1970s—Brean’s article concisely summarizes many of the key factors in the debate on a basic income in Canada.
Joseph Brean, “Prospect of minimum income gaining steam as Canada clamours for new ways to manage welfare and benefits”, Montreal Gazette, 27 December 2015.
by Vito Laterza | Dec 14, 2015 | News
On December 8, Huffington Post Live hosted a debate on basic income following the coverage by mainstream news of the Finnish basic income experiment.
There were three guest speakers:
Guy Standing, BIEN’s Honorary President.
Guy Standing, economist, professor of development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London), and BIEN’s Honorary President;
Karl Widerquist, political philosopher and economist, associate professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, co-chair of BIEN, and co-founder of US Basic Income Guarantee;
Daniel Tencer, business editor of the Huffington Post Canada.
In a broad-ranging discussion, the speakers argued that basic income is both feasible and desirable. Karl Widerquist began the conversation by clarifying that a basic income is given to all citizens and does not depend on means-testing or a work requirement. In other words, it is universal and unconditional.
Karl Widerquist, BIEN’s co-chair.
The speakers also stressed that a basic income reduces inequalities and eliminates poverty. Daniel Tencer noted that Huffington Post Canada has been writing about basic income for some time. He positively reported on the recent rediscovery of the encouraging results of a five-year experiment with basic income in the town of Dauphin, Manitoba during the 1970s.
Another topic of discussion was the relationship between basic income and other welfare benefits. Referring to the Finnish experiment, Guy Standing said that, while basic income is usually discussed in the context of wide-ranging welfare reform, it does not have to replace all existing benefits at once. It can be implemented gradually, while keeping certain needs-based benefits such as disability grants.
When queried about the standard criticism that a basic income is not affordable, Standing and Widerquist remarked that, in fact, it is affordable, and could be financed in a number of ways, from various forms of taxation to currency reform.
Click here to watch the 15-minute video of the debate.
by Will Wachtmeister | Nov 30, 2015 | News
Members of parliament from the Pirate Party have submitted a legislative proposal calling for the introduction of an unconditional income in Iceland, reports The Reykjavik Grapevine news site.
The Icelandic UBI Proposal (fragment). From: https://www.althingi.is/altext/145/s/0454.html
The proposal is for the Ministry of Welfare to form a working group together with the Ministry of Finance and pave the way for a UBI that will “strengthen people’s economic and social rights and eliminate poverty.”
The 3000 word proposal cites several basic income schemes as evidence, including Canada’s MINCOME initiative in the 1970s.
Paul Fontaine, “Pirates Submit Proposal For Universal Basic Income In Iceland.” The Reykjavik Grapevine, 18 November 2015
by Jenna van Draanen | Aug 28, 2015 | News
The Pirate Party of Canada has explicitly made a basic income guarantee one of four key components of their platform. As a national election is upcoming, the party has publicized several of their key issues and has made both a video and an infographic describing the benefits of a basic income in Canada and how it is attainable without raising taxes.
For more information on their platform and the benefits of basic income in Canada, see: their video here and their infographic here. You can learn more about the Pirate Party on their website at https://www.pirateparty.ca/
by Josh Martin | Jul 30, 2015 | News
This article discusses the upcoming basic income experiment in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and compares it to the Canadian ‘Mincome’ project in Dauphin, Manitoba in the 1970s. Many questions still persist about basic income, and hopefully Utrecht will address some of them.
Maria Sanchez Diez, “A Dutch city is giving money away to test the ‘basic income’ theory”, Quartz, 30 June 2015.
