Facilitator's Corner

Summer has arrived! Once again, we can be both inside and outside with family and friends. Fortunately, there is much that we can do that costs us little.

Most of us have comfortable accommodation and, with luck, air conditioning. Nevertheless, far too many in Ontario are not so fortunate! Lately, there seems to be a spate of landlords who are asking families in low-cost housing to leave. This might be reasonable if alternate accommodation were readily available. However, without income security, this is unlikely.

Have you noticed in the past year or so that other basic items like food have gone up considerably? Fifty years ago, we were told that welfare was inappropriate and inadequate to meet rapidly changing conditions. It is not only the physical deprivations but also the daily mental stress of not knowing if your income is secure and sufficient to cover basic needs with a bit left over to plan for a future. More living-wage jobs and preferably a minimum wage for all workers may be an aspiration of building back better. However, as the pandemic has shown, most working adults can be unexpectedly and rapidly cast into poverty.

So, for those of us who believe that a basic income would go a long way to bringing about greater social and economic fairness, we need to keep pressing with our endeavours for gaining new advocates. It is vitally important to take some time during the summer to relax a bit to recharge our batteries first, though and then hit the road running.

Every new supporter that we recruit can help to create the groundswell we need to convince our politicians that the time is ripe for a Basic Income Now!

In the June Newsletter, we asked if you would be kind enough to update your information for us. Many of you responded and we thank those that did. For the rest, though, we want you to know that this information will greatly help Caterina, our Internal Relations Coordinator, in making contact with you to assist in creating new Affiliates or in helping you find any existing ones. So, please be a good sport and update your information using the Volunteer form. Many thanks!

When you are filling in the blanks on the form, please consider becoming a Voting member. At our upcoming AGM, tentatively scheduled for September, all supporters are invited to participate in suggesting ideas for OBIN’s future. We will be looking for a strong representation of Voting Members to approve possible changes and in choosing the 21/22 OBIN Leadership.

Thank you for all of your support!

Joe Foster and John Mills
Co-Facilitators

OBIN Affiliates

Are you interested in becoming an advocate for Basic Income in your community? In order to make Basic Income a reality in Canada, we need to build political will for Basic Income in local communities. The Ontario Basic Income Network seeks to do that by having OBIN Affiliates in each of Ontario's 124 Provincial ridings and 121 Federal ridings.

If you are interested in becoming an OBIN Affiliate or learning more about Lobby Day, please contact me.  We'd love to have you as part of the team!

Caterina Lindman
Internal Relations Coordinator

Conferences

The North American Basic Income Guarantee Conference (NABIG) was held from 17-19 June 2021. All reports indicate that it was a resounding success given the limitations of a virtual conference. If you missed it or missed parts that you wish you could have seen, all of the workshops and plenaries can be viewed here.

The Basic Income Earth Network Network (BIEN) will be held from 18-21 August 2021. You can register for this conference here.

In Closing

Again, we do appreciate hearing from you! Ideas, comments, etc. are needed to fuel our enthusiasm.

Please contact any of the Coordinators or Joe or John at [email protected]

As always, we will continue to keep you informed of our progress via our monthly Minutes.

If you have the wherewithal, please consider supporting our efforts with a one-time or recurring donation here.

Joe and John

Ontario Basic Income Network
www.OBIN.ca