by Joe Timothy | Apr 1, 2016 | News
Over the last 12 months, the debate around basic income has seemingly gained interest by the week. Nations throughout the world — including Finland, Switzerland, France and Holland, among others — are currently exploring this policy as a solution to a plethora of different problems, in some cases even planning full-blown pilot studies. Recently, Canada has joined this list of nations ready to test a basic income. In 2016, since the election of the liberal Justin Trudeau, news has been streaming out of Canada about the adoption of basic income initiatives in various regions of the country — so many that we have decided to helpfully summarise the key news stories for you to consume in one go.
First, in the last few weeks, there has been a mountain of articles about the proposed implementation of a pilot study of basic income in Ontario, Canada. The idea of working towards developing a pilot study was announced in the 2016 budget statement. Few details were released at the time. It was stated that “the government will work with communities, researchers and other stakeholders” to develop a project into basic income. The statement also said that “The pilot project will test a growing view at home and abroad that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market.”
A strategy to reduce poverty and expand the safety net
This push in Ontario towards a basic income is part of a larger strategy “to reduce poverty and expand the safety net”. Accompanying this initiative is a plan to give free university places to low income students. The Ontario government is also concerned with the precarious nature of the modern job market. They stated that there is a growing need for “consistent and predictable” support for working people. Ben Schiller, in Co.exist, wrote that “In Canada, temporary and part-time employment grew twice as fast as full-time work between 1997 and 2015.” It is within this environment that the Ontario government feel a basic income could be a good solution to help their communities.
In addition to the initiative in Ontario, it has also been noted that François Blais has been appointed as the minister of employment and social solidarity in the province of Quebec. Blais’ long term support for basic income has lead to speculation that Quebec may follow Ontario’s lead and look into adopting it as a policy. Schiller also pointed out that this idea has already received support, “Quebec Prime Minister Philippe Couillard says a basic income could simplify the welfare system and encourage work among benefit claimants.”
With the well known Manitoba trails of Minicome (a variant on basic income) in 1970’s, Canada is already an integral part of the history of basic income. However, when the Minicome program was cancelled, its results were filed away, and little was done over the following decades to try to understand the value of such a policy. But now, with the upsurge in interest in the last few years, we find Canada at the forefront of the basic income movement yet again. It is going to be fascinating to watch what comes out of this country over the coming months and see if this time a basic income is here to stay.
Olivia Goldhill, “Ontario, Canada announced a plan to test Universal Basic Income for all citizens”, Quartz, March 8th, 2016
Shane Ferro, “Canada Is About To Start Giving Away Free Money”, The Huffington Post, March 9th, 2016
Jack Smith IV, “Canada Will Experiment With Basic Income — Giving Out Salaries Just for Being Human”, Tech.Mic, March 7th, 2016
Ben Schiller, “Ontario Is The Latest Place To Test A Basic-Income Guarantee”, Co.Exist, March 2nd, 2016
Ashley Cowburn, “Canadian province Ontario plans to trial universal basic income”, The Independent, March 7th, 2016
Chris Weller, “Canada plans to experiment with giving people unconditional free money”, Tech Insider, March 4th, 2016
by Josh Martin | Feb 28, 2016 | News
In the wake of numerous Canadian groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, espousing support for a basic income, Ontario has taken a definitive step forward in committing to studying the idea further by making a budget commitment to undertake a basic income pilot project. While basic income support has been rising in Canada over the past few years, this represents a major breakthrough for the basic income cause in Canada.
According to the full text of the budget, which can be found in this article, the specific text related to the basic income pilot is as follows:
In the 2015 Budget, Ontario introduced a consultation on social assistance rate restructuring. Through ongoing discussions, there emerged a clear consensus on the need to move policy considerations beyond social assistance rates to include aspects of the broader income security system.
As a result, this year, the government will continue to engage with delivery partners, clients and sector advocates to chart the path to comprehensive reform that effectively reduces poverty, supports people in their efforts to participate in the economy, and provides human services in a way that makes sense to the people who need them. This process will look across government and at the broader income security landscape to ensure that various existing and future programs work together to help Ontarians. The government will also engage with First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities to ensure that the path forward recognizes unique challenges on- and off-reserve and helps all Ontarians live a better life.
One area of research that will inform the path to comprehensive reform will be the evaluation of a Basic Income pilot. The pilot project will test a growing view at home and abroad that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market. The pilot would also test whether a basic income would provide a more efficient way of delivering income support, strengthen the attachment to the labour force, and achieve savings in other areas, such as health care and housing supports. The government will work with communities, researchers and other stakeholders in 2016 to determine how best to design and implement a Basic Income pilot.”
While details of the pilot are still forthcoming, the news of a provincial government committing to a pilot is an exciting development for the future of a basic income in Canada.
by Jenna van Draanen | Feb 19, 2016 | News
Rana Bokhari, leader of the Liberal party in the Canadian province of Manitoba, has come out publicly to say that the party will conduct two basic income pilot projects if they are elected in April 2016.
Their proposed projects bear some similarities to the “Mincome” experiment undertaken in Dauphin and Winnipeg (Manitoba) in the 1970’s. The Mincome experiment, however, was cut short when a new government was elected in 1979, and a final report was never issued. Moreover, the Manitoba liberals believe that those results that were recorded from the Dauphin experiment are now dated, and new data are needed to make accurate policy decisions.
Source: Winnipeg Free Press File Photo of Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari
Bokhari has stated that introducing a guaranteed income has potential to be cost-effective and beneficial. Although she acknowledges that the plan has complications, she believes that its potential payoffs make it well worth trying. As she says, “If we want to reduce poverty, if we want to take care of those who are most vulnerable in our society, we need to start taking a much more aggressive approach.”
Indeed, Bokhari believes that the basic income pilots would give Manitoba the opportunity to position itself at the vanguard of an important global movement, stating “Manitoba can and should lead the country and the world in this area.”
For more on this topic, see:
Larry Kusch, “Liberals would launch two projects to study guaranteed minimum income,” Winnipeg Free Press. January 15, 2016
No Author, “Manitoba Liberals to Pilot Minimum Income Project if Elected,” CBC News. January 15, 2016
by Guest Contributor | Feb 17, 2016 | News
The Globe and Mail, Canada’s main centrist newspaper, reported on Friday 5 February 2016 that a federal government minister “is interested in the idea of a guaranteed [minimum] income.” Mr. Jean-Yves Duclos, the new Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, said, “I’m personally pleased that people are interested in the idea.” Mr. Duclos has a mandate to develop a federal poverty-reduction strategy.
Mr. Duclos is part of the Liberal Party of Canada, which won a parliamentary majority in the October 2015 federal election. The Liberal Party’s progressive electoral platform enabled the party to replace the Conservative party on the left and win many seats previously held by the New Democratic Party (Canada’s social democratic party) on the left. Key election promises included deficit spending to stimulate economic growth, the legalization of marijuana, electoral reform, a concerted effort to tackle climate change and a comprehensive national poverty-reduction strategy. Their strong parliamentary majority has given the party a clear mandate to pursue this progressive agenda in earnest.
However, although efforts to reduce poverty feature prominently in the official Liberal platform, a guaranteed minimum income did not. It is therefore unlikely to form part of Mr. Duclos’ national poverty-reduction strategy during the government’s current four-year term. Nevertheless, The Globe and Mail suggests that Mr. Duclos’ comments could lead to the idea’s inclusion in a future Liberal Party election manifesto. His comments would also seem to have substantial support among Liberal Party members with the 2014 Liberal Party Convention producing two major policy resolutions on a basic income.
Furthermore, the introduction of a federal guaranteed minimum income might not be such a difficult sell with Canada’s provincial governments, all of which would have to participate in such an initiative. It was announced in January 2016 that Mr. François Blais, Québec’s new Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, will work towards introducing a provincial guaranteed minimum income. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party of Manitoba has pledged to introduce two guaranteed minimum income pilot projects if the party wins the provincial elections in April 2016.
Written by: Jon West
For more details on this story see:
Bill Curry, “Guaranteed income has merit as a national policy, minister says,” The Globe and Mail. February 5, 2016.
Credit picture CC UNU-WIDER
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.
