by Dejan Tachevski | Jan 2, 2016 | News
Basic Income is an idea that has been gaining popularity amongst Canadians. The Green Party has made basic income one of the most important planks of their platform, tying it to their anti-poverty efforts and elder care strategy.
Dubbing their “Guaranteed Livable Income” (GLI), the Greens would use “a single universal, unconditional cash benefit delivered through the tax system” to replace the current complex system of federal and provincial support.
In a recent article, Huffington Post Canada sat down with party leader Elizabeth May to discuss why providing a basic income to all Canadians would pay off for Canada. The interview provides valuable information about the reasons why she and other Greens believe that the “Guaranteed Livable Income” is the perfect anti-poverty measure.
For more information, read the whole article here: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/10/06/basic-income-canada-green-party-elizabeth-may_n_8246800.html
by BIEN | Dec 30, 2015 | News
Saskatchewan’s New Democrats have endorsed a guaranteed basic income pilot project and are currently lobbying the provincial government to begin a limited distribution of a guaranteed income. The New Democrats are willing to accept either an unconditional basic income or a negative income tax. The endorsement and the subsequent effort to implement a guaranteed income came on the heels of a report from the Advisory Group on Poverty Reduction recommending a pilot project. The Canadian Medical Association has also expressed support for such a measure.
For more information on the potential Saskatchewan guaranteed income pilot project, see:
NDP Caucus Administration, “New Democrats call for a guaranteed basic income pilot project“, September 02, 2015.
by Joe Timothy | Dec 24, 2015 | News
Kingston City Council in Ontario province is the first Canadian municipality to endorse a basic income guarantee (BIG). In a vote held on Tuesday, December 15, the policy idea was unanimously endorsed with a 13-0 outcome in favour. The successful motion calls for a “national discussion of a Basic Income Guarantee for all Canadians”. It also asks for provincial and federal governments to investigate and develop the measure at the national level. The motion will be sent to all municipalities in Ontario with a request to endorse the initiative.
According to the approved text, the rationale for a BIG is the growing income insecurity and inequality, and the inadequacy of the current welfare system to address these issues. The motion states that:
A basic income guarantee would reduce income insufficiency, insecurity, and inequality and ensure everyone an income sufficient to meet basic needs and live in dignity regardless of work status.
One of the biggest supporters of the outcome was former Kingston-area senator Hugh Segal. He has been an advocate for some form of basic income guarantee for decades, and took great pride in this result. Speaking to the local daily Kingston Whig-Standard, he stated that the “Council has shown tremendous courage and real leadership.” He went on to say that “it’s fiscally responsible and it responds to reality in terms of need… Give the money to people because they know where to spend it.”
This result comes at a time of change in the Canadian political landscape with the recent victory Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in the national elections. Toni Pickard, a retired law professor from Kingston University and co-founder of the Kingston Action Group for a Basic Income Guarantee, was interviewed by the same newspaper. She stressed that “the progress exceeds our hopes, to some degrees our imaginations. We expected maybe 20 years before any political take-up”. She remarked that Trudeau, the new Prime Minister, has declared poverty reduction is a top priority. A guaranteed basic income could be a way to help him make great strides in that area.
This is the first elected body in Canada to endorse the introduction of a basic income guarantee. In recent months, several Canadian mayors have spoken in favour of BIG. At the national level, the Canadian Medical Association endorsed BIG, and the National Women’s Liberal Commission, the women’s wing of the ruling party, has called for the federal government to launch a basic income pilot.
Kingston’s move is a significant step. We will have to wait and see whether this will encourage others to show the same support for BIG. With the changing political climate in Canada, it may well be a policy whose time has come.
For more information, see the following sources:
Paul Schliesmann, “Kingston council first to endorse guaranteed income,” The Kingston Whig-Standard, December 18, 2015.
Roderick Benns, “Kingston becomes first Canadian municipality to call for basic income guarantee,” Leaders and Legacies, December 16, 2015.
Roderick Benns interviews Toni Pickard, “Basic income guarantee and healthy minimum wage go hand in hand, says retired professor,” Leaders and Legacies, July 3, 2015.
Toru Yamamori, “CANADA: Ruling party’s women’s commission calls resolution for UBI experiment,” Basic Income News, November 6, 2015.
Josh Martin, “Canadian Medical Association officially endorses basic income at general council,” Basic Income News, September 6, 2015.
Will Wachtmeister, “CANADA: Edmonton mayor moots twin basic income pilot with Calgary,” Basic Income News, June 19, 2015.
by Karl Widerquist | Nov 29, 2015 | News
The NABIG Congress has extended the deadline for the call for papers to January 18, 2016. The organizers write, “You are invited to submit a proposal for participation at the North American Basic Income Guarantee (NABIG) Congress which will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba on May 12-15, 2016. We are eager to receive proposals for presentations, panels, papers, and posters. The revised deadline for submission of proposals is January 18, 2016.”
Further details can be found in the NABIG Call for Participation. If you have any questions, please contact nabigcongress2016@umanitoba.ca
Website: https://www.basicincomecanada.org/
BICN
by Will Wachtmeister | Nov 23, 2015 | News
National charity Food Banks Canada has put basic income policy top of the list of recommendations in its recently published annual report.
From: https://www.foodbankscanada.ca/getmedia/01e662ba-f1d7-419d-b40c-bcc71a9f943c/HungerCount2015_singles.pdf.aspx
“It has been clear for many years that welfare is a broken system,” the HungerCount 2015 report says. “Benefit levels are unreasonably low, the administrative bureaucracy is extremely difficult to navigate, and stigmatization of those in need is widespread. The system seems beyond repair.”
Just over 850,000 Canadians turn to food banks each month – over a quarter more than before the global financial crisis – and over one-third of current users are children.
Levels of social security support are “plainly inadequate” in a situation where around 70% of households with social assistance are food insecure, Food Banks Canada says citing an earlier study by international research group PROOF.
HungerCount reports have consistently warned that the food bank network is an unofficial safety net that fills the gaps in Canadian provinces’ social assistance programs. Basic income as a policy solution has featured less prominently or not at all in earlier HungerCount reports.
Roderick Benns, “Food Banks Canada calls for basic income policy.” Leaders and Legacies, 17 November 2015
Food Banks Canada,”HungerCount 2015: comprehensive report on hunger and food bank use in Canada and recommendations for change.” www.foodbankscanada.ca, 3 November 2015
Tarasuk, V, Mitchell, A, Dachner, N. (2014). Household food insecurity in Canada 2012. PROOF, 6 February 2014
