The Blubber

A universal basic income is being considered by Canada's government, per VICE.

On October 17, the Senate's national finance committee is scheduled to examine a bill, as per a press release from Ontario Senator Kim Pate's office. The bill, which mirrors a counterpart in the House of Commons under the sponsorship of Member of Parliament Leah Gazan, aims to establish a national framework for Universal Basic Income (UBI), without immediate implementation.

The Senate bill, which received both first and second readings in 2021 and April of the following year, calls for provincial ministers and Indigenous governing bodies across Canada to convene and devise a workable plan for UBI. This plan should include ensuring that receiving UBI does not necessitate participation in education, training, or the labor market, and should not lead to reductions in funding for other social services. Should the bill gain approval in both the Senate and the House of Commons, a public report must be issued one year after the study's initiation.

Evelyn Forget, a professor of economics and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba, emphasized the necessity of discussing Basic Income earnestly in light of Canadians grappling with inflation and higher interest rates. She pointed out that the individuals who suffer the most are those with the least. Frontline workers are struggling to cope with growing poverty in urban areas, and merely patching up a dysfunctional system is insufficient.

Canada has a complex history regarding UBI. The positive outcomes of a 1970s experiment with guaranteed "mincome" in Dauphin, Manitoba, including improved mental health, increased high school graduation rates, and reduced doctor visits, continue to be topics of discussion. A UBI experiment was initiated in Hamilton, Ontario, in 2017, originally intended to run for three years before being canceled in 2018 by Premier Doug Ford. However, residents who had participated reported multiple positive effects on their lives. The discussion of universal basic income in Canada resurfaced during the pandemic when the "Canadian Economic Recovery Benefit" (CERB) was introduced to aid Canadians who had lost their jobs due to COVID-19, before the program's termination in September 2020.

A report on Universal Basic Income from the Atlantic Economic Council suggested that while UBI could alleviate poverty, its funding might require cuts to other services and could potentially lead to reduced labor market participation. In contrast, a 2018 report examining various basic income programs worldwide found no significant decrease in labor market participation.