Toronto Arts Council has joined the leaders of Canada’s largest municipal arts councils for the very first time to advocate on behalf of the artists and residents of Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. You can read their strong statement of advocacy on their web page here.

In an announcement in the Globe and Mail on 20 March, the councils presented their case for a basic income for artists in Canada. It begins,

"As we come to terms with the one-year anniversary of COVID lockdowns, Canada’s arts community is focused on creating a brighter and more sustainable future. A future that takes advantage of the upheaval wrought by the pandemic, to repair the broken model outlined by Marsha Lederman on March 13 (Eight ways to fix the arts industry, postpandemic). To be effective, this repair will include provision of a Basic Income Guarantee."

We will be featuring quotations and facts around basic income on a periodic but at least, weekly basis.

The majority of items will be Canadian Quotes and Facts. If you have any “good ones”, please send them along to us at [email protected]

The Final Report of the British Columbia Expert Panel on Basic Income was released in January 2021 and seems to provide another chapter in how to build bureaucracy without solving any problems. Senator Kim Pate, a stalwart champion of basic income released this statement in response to the report emphasising that the proposed solution "recommends continuing to slowly tinker with this patchwork of programs that we know, by design, will leave people in need still falling through the cracks".

A letter-to-the-editor was published in many regional papers in response to an op-ed entitled Federal carbon tax could lead to food insecurity for many Canadians.

M-46 GUARANTEED LIVABLE BASIC INCOME
43RD PARLIAMENT, 1ST SESSION

*** 23 September 2020 ***

MP Leah Gazan (NDP, Winnipeg Centre) placed on notice a Motion M-46 into the House on 10 August 2020 jointly seconded by one Liberal MP and six other NDP MPs. The motion was dropped when Parliament was prorogued later that month. On 23 September 2020, the motion was reinstated with three seconders, one MP from the Green Party and two other NDP MPs.

MOTION TEXT:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should introduce legislation and work with provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous peoples to ensure that a guaranteed livable basic income (i) accounting for regional differences in living costs, (ii) for all Canadians over the age of 18, including single persons, students, families, seniors, persons with disabilities, temporary foreign workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants, (iii) paid on a regular basis, (iv) not requiring participation in the labour market, education or training in order to be eligible, (v) in addition to current and future government public services and income supports meant to meet special, exceptional and other distinct needs and goals rather than basic needs, including accessible affordable social housing and expanded health services, replace the Canada Emergency Response Benefit on an ongoing and permanent basis in a concerted effort to eradicate poverty and ensure the respect, dignity and security of all persons in respect of Canada’s domestic and international legal obligations.

Renewing the Social Contract:
Economic Recovery in Canada from COVID-19

*** 17 December 2020 ***

In April 2020, The Royal Society of Canada established a COVID-19 task force to equip Canadians with accurate information about our response and recovery to the pandemic. It was mandated to provide evidence-informed perspectives on major societal challenges in the response to and recovery from COVID-19. The top recommendation is for a Basic Income.

Webinar - UBI Report Launch: Basic Income can speed up Canada's recovery & grow economy sustainably

*** 12 December 2020 ***

To date, there has been minimum comment from the Canadian financial institutions on the concept of a Basic Income. This webinar from UBI Works is the official launch of the report from the Canadian Center for Economic Analysis and it sheds a new perspective on this issue.

The report launched 9 December 2020 by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) shows Basic Income can grow our economy sustainably, create jobs, and speed up Canada's recovery. Full report & highlights can be accessed here.

CERB Leaves People Behind.
It's time for Basic Income - Why Are We Waiting?

*** 9 December 2020 ***

Senator Kim Pate addressed the Senate during Second Reading debate on Appropriation Bill No. 5 - 2020-21.

She addresses the fact that yet again, this Bill leaves Canada's most vulnerable behind after being left out of CERB. She makes it clear that a basic income is the obvious remedy to the problem.

In Recognition of International Human Rights Day

Basic Income Hamilton and partners present...

Women and Work: The Case for Basic Income

*** Thursday, 10 December 2020 from 12 - 1pm EST ***

Live Zoom Event

*** Please register here.

*** Click here for the event poster as a PDF.