Globe and Mail

Guaranteed basic income has become an idea that won’t go away. Maybe there’s a reason for that.

It surfaced again Wednesday at the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which published a report on a “distributional and fiscal analysis” of a guaranteed basic income (GBI). It’s the fourth time in the past three years that the PBO has written a report on GBI; three of those reports have come in the past 10 months alone.

Why is the PBO examining this further? Because members of Parliament – of various political stripes – keep asking it to.

Globe and Mail

The federal Liberals are poised to debate a wide range of policy ideas, including proposals for universal basic income and national standards for long-term care, at a convention this week that will lay out direction for the party ahead of a possible federal election.

The convention is taking place at a critical moment for the Liberals, who are preparing for the prospect of a forthcoming campaign less than two years into their minority mandate. 

Global News

The parliamentary budget officer says a basic income program similar to one previously studied in Ontario could cut poverty rates nationally by almost half in 2022.

The reductions are not even across provinces, but budget officer Yves Giroux estimates that poverty rates could fall as much as 61.9 per cent in Manitoba or as little as 13.5 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador if the federal government instituted the program. At its core a basic or guaranteed income provides a no-strings-attached government benefit to citizens to provide each with a minimum amount of earnings.

In The Black

The idea of a universal basic income has divided economists for years. Some argue that the payment offers a solution to poverty, while others say it would do little to address inequality.

It should come as little surprise that the once-radical concept of a universal basic income (UBI) is now openly discussed among some mainstream economists as a possible means of reducing social inequality.

After all, the widespread economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken many people’s faith in the free market, with mass job losses on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

Brock Press

If you were to ask people just a few years ago what they thought about universal basic income (UBI), you likely would have heard a lot of confusion and pessimism about the idea, myself included. The first time I heard about UBI was in 2017 and I was initially very dismissive of the concept.

Jump to today and thanks to growing exposure to the idea, on top of the economic impact of the pandemic, the idea of a UBI has become a lot less foreign and a lot less scary to people.

The Chronicle-Herald

When discussions about a basic income guarantee (BIG) gained more attention since the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of CERB, we saw first-hand what a program based on putting money directly into the hands of Canadians was able to do for so many during these difficult times – it prevented many from falling into poverty and let them meet their basic needs.

But a basic income type of program is not a new concept in Canada. The guaranteed income supplement (GIS) has been in effect since 1967 for Canadians over 65 years of age and has research showing the impacts that increased income has on poverty and overall improved health and well-being of these adults. In recent years, the Canada child benefit was established to provide families and caregivers with an income solution to help with costs of raising children.

The Citizen

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu says her department has received widespread support during consultations with various stakeholders for the introduction of a basic income grant (BIG) policy for South Africans in need and unemployed.

The minister participated in a debate in National Assembly on Thursday on the BIG.

She said her department was finalising its proposals, including financing options and implementation pathways in the coming financial year, following which they would seek Cabinet approval of the necessary legislative processes.

Global News

Durham community leaders are encouraging governments at all levels to consider basic income for people across Canada.

It comes as individuals and families continue their struggle to make ends meet amid the ongoing pandemic.

As the executive director of Feed the Need Durham, Ben Earl has seen first-hand how the pandemic has highlighted growing poverty and financial instability in the region.

“The long time attrition of middle-class incomes, the changing labour market and increasing market precarity, growing poverty and inequality — those problems have all been around for a long time,” Earl said.

CTV News

The idea of creating a universal basic income is being pushed by Liberal MPs and grassroots party members, young and old, from east to west -- despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's apparent lack of enthusiasm.

It is among the top priority issues chosen for debate at the governing party's April 9-10 convention following an online policy process in which the party says more than 6,000 registered Liberals took part.

When Liberal MPs first proposed a universal basic income last fall as their foremost policy priority for the convention, Trudeau didn't slam the door.

Last month I watched the fantastic BBC eight-part series of Les Misérables on CBC Gem.

The miniseries is not based on the celebrated musical but rather the darker offering of Victor Hugo’s novel on 19th century urban France as it was on the cusp of revolution. Observing the working-class characters’ brutal lives got me thinking about “free time.”

Ninety years ago, John Maynard Keynes figured we’d be working just 30 hours a week by 2030. Our problem, he surmised, would be a surplus of free time.