Introducing Coalition Canada
Coalition Canada: basic income/revenu de base* is Canada’s cross-country coalition of experienced Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) activists. The Coalition came together following the election of the Federal minority Liberal Government in October, 2019. Advocacy groups from the Yukon and all Provinces except Newfoundland are currently represented.
Read moreBuilding a Basic Income with the CERB platform
The CERB is nothing like a basic income, but it might be the platform we use to build one
One thing on which nearly everyone seems to agree is that the present crisis, with millions unemployed and governments straining to keep them all fed and housed, offers an opportunity to rethink our approach to income support. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has attracted particular attention as a possible model for the long-sought ideal of social-policy reformers everywhere: a guaranteed annual income – or as it’s called more often nowadays, basic income.
Read moreBook Review from Citizens for Public Justice: Bootstraps Need Boots
As a self-proclaimed leftie and basic income supporter, I began Hugh Segal’s Bootstraps Need Boots: One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada both skeptical and curious. In this memoir-meets-case for basic income, the former Senator brings his personal and political experiences into conversation, resulting in a read that is both enjoyable and informative.
Read moreTake Action to Support a Basic Income - Send a Letter to Your MP
The Lobby Day team at OBIN has produced Letter#3 to send to your local MP as well as other MP's. It’s OK if there is duplication - this is in part a numbers game. Please let us know at [email protected] who you send letters to so we can track the results.
We are starting to get feedback from MP’s. This means we are making headway with our letter writing campaign. The more letters our federal elected officials receive, the more they know a Basic Income program is an important issue for Canadian citizens.
Letter#3 is posted on the Lobby Day page.
Basic income: are we talking about the same thing?
May 26, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to much discussion about a basic income program for Canada. The Basic Income Waterloo Region advocacy group is pleased to see increased recognition that if a basic income program had been in place prior to the current crisis, the government would have had a firmer foundation on which to build the crisis response.
Read moreBasic Income and Youth Webinar Replay
Webinar hosted by The Tamarack Institute on 27 May 2020.
Young people are facing a range of systemic issues that will significantly impact their futures as they enter the job market, start families, and seek financial prosperity. However, they are being faced with financial crises, a labour market becoming increasingly precarious, growing inequality, climate change, and amidst COVID-19, social norms will never be the same.
Read moreFree Tickets Available for Hugh Segal Conversation with Mark Sutcliffe on Tues, 26 May
Join host, Mark Sutcliffe, for an online conversation on ending poverty with Hugh Segal, whose latest book, Bootstraps Need Boots, lays out the moral framework and the economic rationale for a universal guaranteed annual income for all. The discussion (May 26) will be followed by an audience Q&A.
Read moreOBIN's rebuttal to John Milloy Basic Income 'slam dunk' article
Tracy Smith-Carrier's response to Mr. Milloy's recent article:
John Milloy’s recent piece in National Newswatch states that Basic Income is far from a slam dunk on a number of counts, not least of which includes the assumption that it would create the conditions of “a steady stream of tales of misuse, double dipping and downright fraud.”
Read moreA basic income program is far from the ‘slam dunk’ many believe
Is a basic income on the horizon?
Advocates would say “absolutely”. It seems a day doesn’t go by without another opinion piece pointing out that the pandemic has created the ideal conditions for its adoption here in Canada.
People want radical change, especially for people who are struggling.
COVID-19 may render millions permanently unemployed and adopting a basic income would be truly transformative.
Read more