Senator Kim Pate sent all her Senate colleagues a letter along with Dr. Evelyn Forget’s response to Senator Bellemare’s opinion piece (“A basic income would be an unfair, complicated and costly way to eliminate poverty” published on April 27, 2022 in the Globe and Mail).
Quebec Senator and economist Diane Bellemare has written a criticism of basic income [A basic income would be an unfair, complicated and costly way to eliminate poverty, Globe and Mail, April 27, 2022] that is wrong on so many levels that it is hard to respond. In 795 words she has managed to confuse “net” and “gross”, “provincial” and “federal”, and a “universal payment” with a “targeted basic income”.
She reports an immense price-tag for a basic income by imagining that the same amount would be paid to all Canadians, rich or poor, when the entire conversation around basic income in Canada has focused on a modest basic income targeted to those with low incomes. She has declared that a basic income would mean paying everyone the same amount making it impossible to respond to differential needs, even though Bill S-233 explicitly says otherwise. Did BC and Quebec declare that a basic income was not feasible, as she reports? They only investigated a provincial program – not a federal basic income.
Bellemare forgets to mention that current programs (such as provincial social assistance) also have a price-tag attached to them, as do her imagined alternative job training programs. She has invented massive labour market disincentives, even though the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that a basic income might lead to a reduction in hours worked of 1.3% – hardly an immense effect.
Would, as she declared, a basic income “involve a complete transformation of our income tax system at the federal and provincial levels”? Hardly. Yet, she surveyed Canadians and, having explained to them, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that their taxes would double and all deductions would be eliminated, she found (surprise!) that popular support for a basic income declined.
Canadians need to have a real conversation about poverty – without fearmongering or invented “data”. We need to know how our different levels of government can cooperate to best respond to real social needs. It makes little sense to report strong public belief that “all working-age adults in Canada should work to earn a living” when 70% of social assistance rolls are comprised of people with disabilities, some of whom can’t work at all and others who need supports to make work possible. And a Youth Guarantee Program, a Job Path Program and a Professional Training Program, popular as they may be, all have costs attached and little evidence of effectiveness. Parts of this country have been awash in job training programs for decades, but the benefits are hard to find.
Let’s get past the ideology and think about how we can make life better for all Canadians.
Evelyn Forget, Professor
University of Manitoba
Department of Community Health Sciences
Max Rady School of Medicine
Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Evelyn Louise Forget is a Canadian health economist with expertise in the feasibility of basic income. She has been appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada for “advancing anti-poverty initiatives in Canada and around the world”. She is the author of the book “Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier and More Secure Life for All“, which was shortlisted for the 2018-19 Donner Prize.
On December 16, 2021, Member of Parliament Leah Gazan (NDP Winnipeg Centre) introduced Private Member Bill C-223 in the House of Commons for first reading (read text here). If passed by the House, this would establish the first national framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income for all persons over 17 across Canada (watch the video here). On the same day, in solidarity and support of Bill C-233, Senator Kim Pate introduced the same bill in the Senate as Bill S-233.
June 8, 2021: The National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called for a National Action Plan to be developed. The Core Group established to develop that Plan released its first report on June 3. The Plan identifies the implementation of a basic income guarantee as a priority.
“The presence of guaranteed livable income in the National Action Plan emphasizes the connection between economic marginalization, violence, and the ongoing legacy of colonialism in Canada,” said Senator Pate. See the Senator’s question in the Senate here.
House of Commons petition e-3347, is sponsored by Ontario Liberal MP Han Dong (Don Vally North). It calls on the government “to reduce child poverty and alleviate the hardships faced by children and women in Canada by allowing all children who are residents of Canada access to Canada Child Benefit payments, irrespective of the immigration status of their parents.” Please consider signing this petition today. If 500 Canadian residents sign the petition by May 23, 2021, the government will be forced to answer the question of the MP on this issue.
Categories
New studies on basic income
Elaine Power, Associate Professor at Queens University just published a study on food insecurity among students at Queen’s University. A new book by Elaine Power and Jamie Swift was also released: The Case for Basic Income: Freedom, Security, Justice.
BICYN, Canada’s basic income youth network for those under 35, just completed their first year of advocacy work and produced a video about what they have accomplished so far. If you are passionate about the need for basic income and want to join a dedicated group of young people committed to ensuring our governments hear their voices on the need for income security for youth – and everyone living in Canada – watch this video and join BICYN!
Everyone deserves to put food on the table and have a safe place to call home, yet 3.2 million people in Canada live below the poverty line. A basic income costs less than poverty, and would ensure everyone has what they need to live a dignified life. Watch and share this powerful video of Leadnow members from all walks of life, sharing how a basic income would benefit them. Watch and share here….
On Thursday, April 8, 12:30 p.m. local time, on the eve of the Liberal and New Democratic Party National Conventions, The United Church of Canada is inviting Canadians across the country to light a candle in support of a guaranteed livable income. Building on the heightened awareness of the importance of community health and well-being and on the demonstrated success of basic income programs, we call on our federal government to roll out a guaranteed livable income program in collaboration with the provinces, territories, and Indigenous leadership. Read more…
“Thinking about speculative design and how it can question oppression and push towards larger shifts in society forces me to reflect on my own role in social activism. I consider my proximity to an issue and make an effort to speak about relevance to me as a way of communicating relevance to others. Although design-thinking alone cannot change society, critical offerings enacted through community with great effort towards building consensus can take individual goals further than I could alone…”
Read the rest of this article on Clayton Windatt’s website