by Josh Martin | Sep 8, 2015 | News
Mayor Keith Hobbs of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has joined the mayors of Edmonton and Calgary in publicly stating his support for a basic income. Hobbs believes basic income provides a certain degree of self-worth to every individual and helps fight poverty, addiction, and homelessness. Hobbs thinks the best strategy going forward is to implement a basic income paired with a housing-first strategy that seeks to house homeless people within ten days of knowing they are homeless.
To read more, click on the following link:
Roderick Benns, “Reliable, basic income would lead to better self-worth and a better life: Thunder Bay mayor”, Leaders and Legacies, 25 August 2015.
by Josh Martin | Jul 15, 2015 | News
Following the declarations of support for a basic income guarantee by Mayor Don Iveson of Edmonton and Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Campaign for a Basic Income Guarantee (C-BIG) has called on the provinces’ politicians to seize this political momentum for a basic income. All four political party leaders in PEI have gone on record in support of basic income, and C-BIG hopes to generate enough momentum for basic income to culminate in a pilot project in PEI.
For more information, see the following links:
Anne Wheatley, “Campaign calls on P.E.I. politicians to join Calgary and Edmonton mayors in backing basic income guarantee”, Campaign for a Basic Income Guarantee, 10 July 2015.
Roderick Benns, “Alberta’s big city mayors bring capacity crowd to their feet at national summit on poverty”, Leaders and Legacies, 7 May 2015.
Marie Burge, “P.E.I. ideal place to pilot basic income guarantee”, The Guardian, 10 April 2014.
by Will Wachtmeister | Jun 19, 2015 | News
Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson has launched the idea of pioneering Canadian basic income together with the fellow Albertan city of Calgary.
Iveson said the evidence is “overwhelming” for introducing a basic income guarantee for all Canadians and believes Alberta’s two largest cities should host initial pilot schemes.
The mayor of Edmonton also said the two cities should closely involve the new center-left government of Alberta.
Iveson said that Edmonton and Calgary “may be in a position to pilot some different solutions” and noted that as partners they may be able to assist the Province of Alberta implement a basic income guarantee pilot.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi early last month [May 9 2015] made a strong commitment to BIG and is currently building support among fellow Canadian city leaders. Iveson said that mayors like himself “can help move the needle on public acceptance” towards basic income, given Canada’s non-partisan mayoral tradition.
Rachel Notley, leader of the center-left Alberta New Democratic Party, assumed office as province premier on 24 May [2015] marking the end of an unbroken 44-year period of center-right rule in the province.
Iveson said there was scope to build pro-basic income momentum across the political spectrum, including among conservatives.
For other stories on this topic, see these sources:
Roderick Benns, “Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson speaks out in favour of a basic income guarantee,” Leaders and Legacies, June 1, 2015
Roderick Benns, “Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi vows to take ‘leadership’ on basic income guarantee issue,” Leaders and Legacies, May 9, 2015
by Jenna van Draanen | Jun 17, 2015 | News
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.
by Liam Upton | Jun 15, 2015 | News
A former Conservative senator and the Association of Local Public Health Agencies of Ontario have recently expressed their support for Basic Income, joining a number of prominent politicians, political parties and NGOs who now support the introduction of a Basic Income in Canada
The NGO, the Association of Public Health Agencies in Ontario, an organisation of boards of health and public health units across the province, declared their support at a meeting on the 8th of June. The support comes after the health unit of Simcoe Daskoka, Ontario first came out in favour of the policy at the start of June. The support is part of a commitment to focus on the social determinants of health, with income and income distribution the first considered. In the adopted resolution, the association point out “1,745,900 Ontarians, or 13.9 percent of the population, live in low income according to the 2011 National Household Survey after-tax low-income measure.” They join Food Banks Canada (p2), another prominent NGO who declared support for Basic Income recently.
Michael Meighen, a former Conservative senator is another supportive voice. The Québec native, who ran for parliament in support of Basic Income at the 1972 and 74 general elections has re-iterated his support in a recent interview. He cited some uncertainties around support for the proposal, saying ‘That’s where pilot projects come in – we have to test it’, suggesting that successful tests will make the policy easier to promote politically. He joins Hugh Segal, another former Conservative senator in favour of Basic Income.
Another politician, this time Ontario Liberal MPP Jeff Leal also had encouraging words about Basic Income, saying, “This would go a long way to eliminate poverty in Canada”, and added “As long as it is designed in such a way that it wouldn’t create a welfare wall as a disincentive for individuals to move into the workforce, I certainly believe that can be done”.
These voices join the mounting calls for Basic Income in Canada in recent months. As well as the above mentioned Food Banks Canada, a number of prominent politicians have also declared their support. At a recent conference on poverty in Prince Edward Island, the leader of every party contesting the provincial election voiced their support, while the federal Liberal Party also adopted Basic Income as a policy at its national conference last year. Even more recently, the mayors of Alberta’s capital and two biggest cities, Calgary and Edmonton also voiced their support, with Calgary mayor Don Nenshi calling for mayors to work together to push for its implementation.
For more information, see:
Roderick Benns, “Ontario’s association of health units green lights basic income as policy“, Leaders and Legacies, 10 June 2015
Roderick Benns, “Second prominent Conservative speaks out in favour of basic income pilot projectsLeaders and Legacies, 10 June 2015
Todd Vandonk, “Could a guaranteed basic income solve our poverty problems?”, myKawartha.com, 12 June 2015
