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Basic Income/Healthy Communities

Progressives must define the basic income we want

Until recently, Canadian austerity proponents have not paid a lot of attention to basic income. But now that governments are taking it up, things are changing. The one influential study from the right, the Fraser Institute Report (January 2015), has become a major resource for conservative policy analysts appearing in the media these days. They are repeatedly defining basic income ... Read More »

The nature of work and how we define ourselves is now in question: Opposition MPP

Progressive Conservative MPP, Julia Munro, says the very nature of work is changing so rapidly that societies are having difficulty figuring out how to respond. Munro, who is the PC critic for the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, says the “nature of work has changed so much.” “Everything has always been pinned on our work – our employment. It’s the way ... Read More »

DiNovo says Basic Income must work in tandem with new workplace standards

Fifty years ago, MPP Cheri DiNovo’s father was involved with the Basic Income movement in Canada. That shows the longevity of an idea that has refused to die, she says, as Ontario and other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world contemplate moving forward with some kind of minimum income guarantee. While the NDP’s DiNovo is very supportive of the ... Read More »

John A. Macdonald would have supported a Basic Income policy

If there’s one thing Prime Minister John A. Macdonald could do exceptionally well, it was to recognize where the political winds were blowing. That’s not a criticism. The most able of politicians help move societies where they actually want to go anyway. Leaders and governments merely ensure a smooth transition, if they are doing their jobs well. As we get ... Read More »

Our most basic needs in society surely includes money

For too many years Canada has danced around what is perhaps the central issue in social policy development. What are the most basic needs of Canadian citizens? If one were to read a recent report from the Mowat Centre called Working Without a Net: Rethinking Canada’s Social Policy in the New Age of Work one wouldn’t think it was money. ... Read More »

New Leaf co-founder aims to help homeless and sees parallels with Basic Income

In 2015 Claire Williams left her career behind in Vancouver to volunteer at an orphanage in India. When she returned to Vancouver six months later, the issue of homelessness in her city preoccupied her. She wanted to make a lasting impact in the lives of others. With her co-founder, Frans Tjallingii, the New Leaf Project was born. New Leaf is ... Read More »

Followed by poverty, Peterborough man finds hopeful cause in Basic Income

When he was a young man, just leaving high school, Jason Hartwick always pictured himself in front of a classroom. He saw himself as a high school teacher, helping to inspire young people and to guide them along their lives’ paths. The thing is, Hartwick didn’t have anyone to guide him. He grew up in poverty, bounced around from town ... Read More »

‘My heart tells me this is a fantastic solution’: Ontario Minister on Basic Income

Chris Ballard, the Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario, says he is hopeful the province’s Basic Income pilot will “put to rest” any doubts people have about how positive a minimum income strategy could be. Ballard, who is overseeing the Basic Income pilot project initiated by Canada’s largest province, says some of the ... Read More »