Global News

Speculation has it that the idea of a basic income program is on the table and being seriously considered as the Trudeau government puts the finishing touches on the upcoming speech from the throne.

You may recall that the Wynne government instituted a basic income pilot project in a handful of Ontario cities, including Hamilton, and early indications seemed to indicate that the program was having a positive impact on low-income earners.

Hamilton News

Canada’s Labour Minister Filomena Tassi says the federal government is considering establishing a universal basic income as a way to help people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

As the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) ends in September and merges with a revamped employment insurance benefit program, anti-poverty activists have called on the Liberals to establish a basic income program after seeing how effective it can be for citizens who have lost their jobs.

“This is a progressive policy,” said Tassi, Liberal MP for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas. “Everything is on the table for us as we move forward. We are taking a look at the impact COVID has had on Canadians and really working on how to come up with solutions to getting Canadians working and providing them with the supports they need during this very challenging time.”

CBC News

A guaranteed basic income for all Canadians has emerged as the top policy choice of Liberal MPs, just as the Trudeau government is crafting its plan to help people weather the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild the ravaged economy.

The Liberal caucus is calling on the government to adopt the idea in a priority policy resolution for consideration at the party's upcoming national convention.

And MPs consider it so important that they've designated it their top resolution, guaranteeing that it will go directly to the Nov. 12-15 convention for debate and a vote.

Global News

The Trudeau Liberals appear to be warming to the idea of a guaranteed national minimum income as they search for ways to help Canadian workers adapt to an unsteady labour market.

A guaranteed minimum income means different things to different people, but at its core is a no-strings-attached payment governments provide instead of an assortment of targeted benefits.

Case for Basic Income

In 2016 the the federal Liberals voted to shake-up Canada’s social policy by moving toward a “minimum guaranteed income” model, or basic income.

Now, the party wants to push that message hard again in 2018 with another resolution in support of a basic income guarantee for all Canadians.

At the party’s national convention held in Winnipeg two years ago, the resolution states the party will, in consultation with the provinces, “develop a poverty reduction strategy aimed at providing a minimum guaranteed income.”