By Roderick Benns

Four panelists met in the southwestern Ontario city of Guelph Wednesday night to debate the merits of a basic income guarantee. When the dust settled, there may have been more common ground than first imagined.

The central question of the evening was ‘Can a Basic Income Guarantee Eliminate Poverty?’ Sheila Regehr (pictured left, top) chair of the Basic Income Canada Network, kicked off the evening with a 20-minute introduction about basic income. She was then in conversation with Peter Clutterbuck (left, bottom), from the Social Planning Network of Ontario, Noah Zon, (right, top) Director of Policy and Research, Maytree, and Dr. Nicola Mercer, (right, bottom) Medical Officer of Health, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.

By Roderick Benns

The ninth annual Basic Income Week surpassed all expectations in Canada with a plethora of basic income-related activities of note. This reflects only a limited cross-section of activities: 

Ontario Basic Income Pilot 

Nowhere is the discussion about basic income more developed than in Ontario where the government is poised to release the parameters of a basic income pilot this fall. No one knows yet where the pilot will be set up, or in how many locations, nor the number of people this will affect. Retired Conservative Senator Hugh Segal acted as special adviser for the project and has already reported back to the Province on his recommendations. 

Segal has long been an advocate for a basic income guarantee and has spent 40 years of his professional life arguing for the policy as a way to mitigate poverty.

By Roderick Benns

The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) has recently made its submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee pre-budget consultations, urging creation of a basic income that would be universally available to Canadians in times of need.

BICN Chair Sheila Regehr writes in her executive summary that this is “an important time to build on basic income initiatives underway in Quebec and Ontario” and on recent federal initiatives to strengthen other forms of basic income. This includes the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for seniors and the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) aimed at families with children, both of which have proven effective in reducing poverty. (Retired Senator Hugh Segal is providing advice on design and implementation of a demonstration pilot in Ontario, and Quebec is currently looking into a form of basic income.)

By Roderick Benns

The chair of the Basic Income Canada Network, Sheila Regehr, will be speaking alongside other distinguished panelists at a community forum on Universal Basic Income in Toronto in June.

In addition to Regehr, MP Adam Vaughn (who also serves as a parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) will speak, as will Josephine Grey, director of Low Income Families Together (LIFT).

John Clarke, organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty is also a panelist. The panel discussion will be moderated by Jacquie Chic from Ryerson University.

She is also a board member of Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services (KBCLS) who are sponsoring the discussion.

By Solomon Israel

CBC News

In Ottawa, a federal MP is pushing for government research on the subject. Ontario's provincial budget announced a pilot program to try it out. In Quebec, a cabinet minister has been assigned to study the topic.

The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are both on board. And the Manitoba Liberals are promising their own trial if they win the April 19 provincial election.

Basic income is capturing political imaginations in Canada.