Nov 3 @7pm EST
Should Freelancers Advocate for Universal Basic Income
A webinar hosted by :
Canadian Freelance Union/Syndicat canadien des pigistes
Category: Media coverage
Sheila Regehr, Chair of Basic Income Canada Network, responds to Speech from the Throne
The Speech from the Throne began with the message that ‘this is not the time for austerity’ and talked about ‘fighting for every Canadian’. The content is far more status quo than bold or transformative, however, and doesn’t match the rhetoric. Canadians from all sectors and walks of life are calling for a basic income to give everyone a fighting chance but it was glaringly absent.
Basic income, just transition depend on each other, Regehr says
The Energy Mix (September 23, 2020)
The very basic idea is that everyone is part of society and the economy. Everyone should be able to participate and benefit from it. In our modern world that takes money. It’s a matter of human rights and dignity, and it’s a common good, the idea of sharing resources.
But our systems of income security and social protection don’t do that nearly well enough. That’s why we see what COVID has just magnified enormously for us, that we’ve got these problems of poverty, inequality, insecurity, anxiety, systemic discrimination that we’ve been fighting for a long time but obviously haven’t made very many dents.
Senators call for basic income to redress racism and inequality
OTTAWA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 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.
National Observer, (September 15, 2020)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been pressured to make universal basic income policy a top priority as the throne speech, where he is expected to lay out a federal agenda, quickly approaches. Financial programs put in place during the pandemic prove that the government is capable of making it happen.
The Toronto Star (September 15, 2020)
A coalition of nearly 4,000 individuals and organizations is calling on the federal government to implement a guaranteed basic income to address the systemic gender inequities exposed and intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chronicle Herald (August 20, 2020)
Proponents say a universal basic income helps lift people out of poverty.
Read five letters to the editor responding to a critic of universal basic income, and why he’s wrong in stating it makes recipients even more reliant on the state.
Categories
Make CERB a permanent basic income
MP submits motion to make CERB a permanent basic income
By Amber McGuckin
Global News (August 16, 2020)
A Winnipeg MP is looking to convert the Canada Emergency Response Benefit into a permanent fixture.
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan tabled a motion in the House of Commons to convert CERB into a permanent guaranteed liveable basic income.
“COVID-19 has demonstrated that we do have the resources. We must ensure all individuals in Canada can thrive in dignity and that means making investments to ensure basic human rights for all,” she said.
Categories
‘Do our lives count for less?’
COVID-19 exposes cracks in disability aid
By Adina Bresge
Victoria Times Colonist (July 17, 2020)
Karyn Keith says she isn’t asking for much. All she wants is the same support she’d receive if she was out of a job because of the pandemic, rather than unable to work because of her disabilities.
The 44-year-old mother in Brampton, Ont., said she lives with constant pain and fatigue from multiple chronic conditions, including trigeminal neuralgia, a debilitating nerve disorder characterized by searing spasms through the face.
By Johannah Brockie, Erick Carreras, Christina Muia and Farrah K. Seucharan
Hamilton Spectator (August 12, 2020)
Ask youth what they would do with an extra $2,000 a month and the answers might surprise you.
Young people disproportionately struggle with mental health issues and undertake increasing student debts, all while facing a daunting post-pandemic-era job market at a time when many jobs are precarious, underpaid, or part of the gig economy.
Johannah Brockie, Erick Carreras, Christina Muia, Farrah K. Seucharan, Safa Shahkhalili and Argerie Tzouras are members of the Basic Income Organizing Committee, part of OCIC’s Youth Policy-Makers Hub.