On October 6, 2020, the Ottawa West-Nepean NDP hosted a virtual townhall on basic income, with special guests Leah Gazan (MP for Winnipeg Centre and sponsor of Motion 46), Sheila Regehr (chair of the Basic Income Canada Network), and Chloe Halpenny (founding member and co-chair of the Basic Income Canada Youth Network).

National Post - Raymond J. de Souza - 15 October 2020

This is a debate we should be having now, as the pandemic has caused the ground to shift on unemployment and government assistance.

In honour of the 70th birthday of Hugh Segal this week (Oct. 13), might I recommend reading my friend’s latest book, Bootstraps Need Boots: One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada. Not as a gift to him, but as a gift to readers.

It is one of the more unusual political memoirs, organized around a policy idea rather than a curriculum vitae, and one of the more entertaining — and, in these troubled days, uplifting. Hugh called himself, in an earlier book, a “happy warrior” and a measure of happiness is most welcome now that we have warriors aplenty.

News Release - Senators Lankin, McCallum, and Pate - Ottawa - 23 September 2020

Senators Lankin, McCallum and Pate hosted a meeting with Indigenous women leaders and MP Leah Gazan to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous women in Manitoba and the place of guaranteed livable basic income in redressing systemic racism and inequality.

Most Canadians want Basic Income.

UBI Works - 23 September 2020

On Sept 23rd the federal government announced its priorities in the Throne Speech as the country enters a second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The speech included numerous new announcements to tweak and expand the social safety net, prioritizing employment insurance and direct supports for businesses - but no mention of a basic income. 

Journal of Poverty - Leah Hamilton and James Mulvale - 20 May 2019

This article compares social assistance in Ontario with a pilot project to test basic income as an alternative method of enabling economic security and social participation. Interviews conducted with pilot recipients indicated a desire to be financially independent, but that the conditionality of traditional programs had negative repercussions including work disincentives and bureaucratic hurdles. Respondents reported that basic income improved their nutrition, health, housing stability, and social connections; and better facilitated long-term financial planning.

Income insecurity is a gendered issue. That is why the Case for Basic Income for Women is so strong. Today nearly 4,000 organizations and individuals from across the country – including the Canadian Women's Foundation, the LEAF (Women's Legal Education and Action Fund), and Women's College Hospital, have signed on to a national Statement on Basic Income: A Case for Women. The document calls on the Federal Government to extend the CERB benefits and transition as quickly as possible from temporary benefits to a permanent basic income.

Attend the National Town Hall co-hosted by Coalition Canada and The Green Party of Canada: Why Canada needs Guaranteed Livable Basic Income on Thursday September 17 at 4-5:30 PM Pacific and 7-8:30 PM Eastern

Green Party MP Paul Manly (Nanaimo-Ladysmith), in collaboration with Coalition Canada: Basic Income, is hosting a national town hall on Guaranteed Livable Basic Income with a panel of experts who will explain the basics, talk about the benefits, and break down some myths and misunderstandings. We’ll also hear from Canadians who will speak about guaranteed livable basic income from their personal experiences.

Register Here

Free Webinar on Basic Income! Wednesday, September 2nd  3:30 – 4:30 pm EDT

SocialCanada.org is collaborating with the Pearson Centre to offer another free webinar.

We will take another look at a Basic Income for Canada, and specifically the proposal put forward by former Senator and Chief of Staff to PM Brian Mulroney,  Hugh Segal. He will be joined by Senator Kim Pate, who cosigned a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau supporting the concept, and by Professor Grace-Edward Galabuzi, of Ryerson University, who will comment from the perspective of minority and racialized communities. Terrance Hunsley, Senior Fellow of the Pearson Centre and Editor of SocialCanada.org, will be the moderator.