With ads for the provincial elections already hitting the airwaves and Advocacy Week in November, there is plenty going on in the world of Basic Income.
Advocacy Week
OBIN Advocacy week takes place from Monday, November 15th to Friday, November 19th. This is the week when many Basic Income advocates will be meeting with MPPs across the Province.
We are meeting with MPPs to help them see that there is support for Basic Income in the community, and to gauge their level of support, as well as to build a relationship, so that they feel comfortable sharing with us what their concerns are about Basic Income, and what they see as the merits of Basic Income. Our timing is such that the parties will be thinking about what to include in their election platforms, and we'd love to see Basic Income a part of a platform for more than just the Green Party!
Our Advocacy Week Committee (Kerry Lubrick, Alan Cavell, Heather Brooks-Hill, John Mills, Abby Taher and I) prepared some tools to support your efforts. These include a sample email to approach the MPP to ask for a meeting, a document describing how to build effective relationships with MPPs, Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) about Basic Income, and a link to a recent webinar on meeting with politicians.
Since it takes time and persistence to get a meeting with your MPP, it's not too early to get started! And once you get a meeting, we can ask other people to attend with you if you prefer. Please keep me in the loop as to your progress in requesting and securing a meeting! You can do that by filling in the date and time of the meeting in the spreadsheet, or sending me an email.
-Caterina
OBIN and Coalition Canada
OBIN is continuing to work with organizations and institutions, both in Ontario and across Canada, to develop the work and relationships needed to help ensure that a basic income in Canada is made a reality. The 'cases for basic income series' is growing with the cases for Criminal Justice, and Municipalities well on their way. OBIN's partnership with Coalition Canada means that advocates from Ontario will be participating in the upcoming Federal Advocacy week to be held in early 2022. Federal/Provincial cooperation is really important to getting a basic income implemented in Canada so we all need to work together to make sure both our Provincial and Federal representatives hear our message.
A quick note, one of the issues for our elected representatives is that there is some confusion about the type of basic income we want to see. Please make sure that when you speak to your MP, MPP, your colleagues and friends you talk about a 'basic income guarantee', or a 'guaranteed liveable income'. The phrase 'universal basic income' is often misunderstood and can lead to confusion. For more information about this please see the FAQ's developed by Coalition Canada.
-Barbara
A Vibrant Communities Webinar: Basic Income and Climate Change
Date: November 9, 12:00 - 1:00 pm ET
Basic Income has been long positioned as a means to reduce poverty and improve equality, but it is also a promising strategy for helping Canadians manage increasingly frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change. Moreover, it is also considered viable for helping communities transition to a new carbon economy while supporting marginalized populations to thrive.
Join poverty reduction and environmental advocates to explore the ways in which Basic Income can be a tool for both environmental and social progress.
Speakers:
Mitchell Beer, The Energy Mix
Jim Mulvale, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba
Janet Patterfung, The Green Resilience Project
Scott Santens, Writer, Editor and Advocate
Natasha Pei, Tamarack Institute, Manager of Cities for Vibrant Communities
For more information and to register go to: https://events.tamarackcommunity.ca/basic-income-climate-change
Dues
Just a reminder that dues are well, due. We'd really appreciate it if affiliates could chip in $25 to help keep up with OBIN's operating costs for the year. You can donate here.