Hugh Segal, basic income champion, would want others to carry baton for him, say supporters

Hugh Segal, basic income champion, would want others to carry baton for him, say supporters

“Hugh Segal, perhaps Canada’s most ardent defender of a basic income policy to lift people out of poverty, has died at 72.

A Kingston resident, Segal was born in Montreal. His career included public service as chief of staff to prime minister Brian Mulroney and before that for Ontario premier Bill Davis. Former prime minister Paul Martin appointed him to the senate and later Segal would serve as principal of the University of Toronto’s Massey College.”

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CANADA: Hugh Segal asks why we support corporations and not individuals?

CANADA: Hugh Segal asks why we support corporations and not individuals?

Former Canadian Senator Hugh Segal has been a long-time advocate for basic income in Canada. In a recent interview, Segal notes that the nature of work is changing and he comments on the willingness to protect companies from economic crisis but not to protect individual people. Segal says that a basic income guarantee should not be about political affiliations and says, ““Whether left or right, this idea is attractive for all. Just give the money to the people living in poverty who will know what to do with it.”

For more about Hugh Segal’s endorsement of basic income see:

Roderick Benns, “Time to start treating our own citizens as well as we do corporations: Hugh Segal.” Leaders and Legacies. May 26, 2015.

Hugh Segal, “Scrapping Welfare: The case for guaranteeing all Canadians an income above the poverty line

Hugh Segal

Hugh Segal

Hugh Segal, author of The Right Balance: Canada’s Conservative Tradition (Douglas and McIntyre, 2011), is an Ontario senator and former president of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Hugh Segal, “Scrapping Welfare: The case for guaranteeing all Canadians an income above the poverty line,” Literary review of Canada, December 2012.

Canada: Bruce Stewart, “Canadian Senator Hugh Segal and his guaranteed income plan”

Hugh Segal

Hugh Segal

[Craig Axford]

This article discusses Conservative Canadian Senator Hugh Segal who continues to advocate for a basic income guarantee.  According to Senator Segal an income floor would encourage more entrepreneurship, enhance consumer spending, and provide a top up for low paying service jobs that are increasingly a barrier preventing many Canadians from joining the middle class.

Bruce Stewart, “Canadian Senator Hugh Segal and his guaranteed income plan”, Beacon News, October 7, 2013.