News Release - 26 Feb 2020 - Ottawa, ON - Last night,  Senator Kim Pate urged Senators to examine and take action to support the implementation of guaranteed livable income in Canada. Nearly five decade ago, the  Senate issued an urgent call for a nation-wide  guaranteed livable income. 

In the wake of COVID-19, people across Canada are struggling to make ends meet or finding themselves in precarious positions. From the get-go, too many of those most marginalized and impoverished did not have the resources to follow public health directives.

Since then, vast numbers of Canadians have been laid off, others have shut their businesses — and many still risk going to work because they can’t afford to take the financial hit. The federal government is expecting four million Canadians to apply for emergency job loss benefits.

'Let’s hear where party leaders stand on the idea, because as work becomes more precarious, more Canadians will need help, no strings attached.'

When Canadians head to the polls on October 21, they should ask themselves how Canada’s political parties will tackle inequality.

Canada once again may be missing a historic opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic is a flashpoint, a situation that begs for a basic income to address the cracks through which millions of Canadians continue to fall through. And yes, protect those workers who have recently lost their employment and household income.

When the federal government unveiled its plan to provide Canadians whose employment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with a monthly income of $2,000, members of P.E.I.'s Working Group for a Livable Income saw something that looked a lot like what they and others have been trying to bring to P.E.I. for years: a basic guaranteed income.

THESE days no one should need convincing that our economic well-being can be affected by unexpected shocks. Sometimes these shocks are due to big events, such as the coronavirus pandemic or the great recession in 2008. Sometimes they are due to changes in personal circumstances, such as illness, job loss or the death of a provider.

People are worried about their health, their loved ones, and their future. They’re worried about paying the bills next week.

Experts are telling governments to get money into people’s pockets immediately to blunt the economic hardship from the COVID-19 crisis.

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Dr. Evelyn Forget's recent piece in the Globe and Mail explores why Basic Income in Canada is inevitable.

"... Basic income is not just about welfare reform." A basic income is most valuable to people in the middle class and those hoping to join them. Here’s why a Canadian basic income is inevitable.

Read the article.