{"id":27880,"date":"2021-02-05T17:30:17","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T17:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basicincometoday.com\/?p=9855"},"modified":"2021-02-05T17:30:17","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T17:30:17","slug":"pressure-mounts-in-canada-to-launch-a-basic-income-pilot-in-prince-edward-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/05\/pressure-mounts-in-canada-to-launch-a-basic-income-pilot-in-prince-edward-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure Mounts in Canada to Launch a Basic Income Pilot in Prince Edward Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Jolson Lim<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support for a basic income may be shifting from one end of the country to the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four senators are the latest leaders to say they\u2019re in favour of a guaranteed, livable basic income on Prince Edward Island, with Ottawa\u2019s help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special all-party committee of the P.E.I. legislature urged the provincial government late last year to begin negotiating with Ottawa for money to test-drive a guaranteed basic income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three senators from P.E.I. \u2014 Sens. Diane Griffin, Brian Francis, and Mike Duffy, as well as Ontario Sen. Kim Pate \u2014 sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and P.E.I. Premier Dennis King last week calling not just for a pilot program, but a nationwide guaranteed basic income, starting on the island.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter says P.E.I. would be an appropriate place to begin because of its small and aging population, and because it\u2019s been used before as a \u201ctest bed\u201d for innovations in everything from agriculture to wind energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee\u2019s report suggests how it might work. A single adult would be guaranteed an annual income of $18,260, while a family of two would get $25,747, at a cost to taxpayers of $270 million a year. Earnings in addition to the basic income would be clawed back by 50 cents for every dollar earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a number of people there who certainly could use the support and assistance,\u201d said Pate, one of the loudest advocates in the Senate for a basic income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven the political will, it seems like a great spot to start implementation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she understands it, Pate said the P.E.I. government will support it, and has written to Ottawa about it. She\u2019s meeting with King next week before his speech from the throne on Feb. 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019ve been \u201congoing conversations\u201d about a basic income among MLAs, ministers, senators, MPs, King, and government officials since the committee released its report, Adam Ross, a spokesperson for King, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of paying Canadians a basic income has picked up momentum during the pandemic, which has exposed large holes in the country\u2019s social safety net. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proponents see basic income as a way to reduce poverty, protect Canadians from financial ruin, and not force workers to take on dangerous jobs. It would also be simpler to administer, and more naturally responsive to economic crises like the one we\u2019re in now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last April, more than 50 senators signed a letter asking that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit evolve into a guaranteed basic-income program that would prevent Canadians from falling through the cracks of government relief, as had occurred with the employment insurance system.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone\u2019s on board, though. In a\u00a0500-page report<\/a>, an expert panel appointed by the B.C. government recently concluded that \u201cmoving to a system (with) a basic income for all as its main pillar is not the most just policy option.\u201d It would be too costly, and wouldn\u2019t necessarily help the non-financial problems that cause people to need money in the first place, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe needs of people in this society are too diverse to be effectively answered simply with a cheque from the government,\u201d it reads.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the panel says the B.C. government should bring in improvements and targeted actions, including a basic income for certain vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pate agreed with some of the report\u2019s conclusions, saying poverty won\u2019t be solved by a basic income without other policies in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody who is credible, and recommending basic income, is saying a cheque from a government alone will solve it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut nobody who is credible, (and) who\u2019s looking at poverty, says (social) programs alone can solve it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But the report doesn\u2019t say that a basic income in any form is a bad idea, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The B.C. panel also concluded that a basic-income pilot would be ineffective as a case study, because many of the potential benefits would be realized only if the program were permanent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has expressed support for a pilot program in P.E.I., the\u00a0Liberal government doesn\u2019t plan to proceed with basic income.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a very important conversation to have,\u201d Trudeau told a virtual town hall last December. \u201cBut, as (Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland) might point out, it\u2019s not something (we\u2019re considering) right now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A statement from Freeland\u2019s office provided to iPolitics on Wednesday said Ottawa already helps Islanders with programs that support their income and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freeland\u2019s mandate letter also asked her to \u201cavoid creating new permanent spending.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, a basic income would ensure a \u201crecovery for all,\u201d said Pate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

_____<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With files from Janet Silver.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see original article please visit: https:\/\/ipolitics.ca\/2021\/02\/03\/pressure-mounts-on-ottawa-to-fund-basic-income-pilot-in-p-e-i\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Pressure Mounts in Canada to Launch a Basic Income Pilot in Prince Edward Island<\/a> appeared first on Basic Income Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Basic Income Today<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Jolson Lim Support for a basic income may be shifting from one end of the country to the other. Four senators are the latest leaders to say they\u2019re in favour of a guaranteed, livable basic income on Prince Edward Island, with Ottawa\u2019s help. A special all-party committee of the P.E.I. legislature urged the provincial government [\u2026]<\/p>\n

The post Pressure Mounts in Canada to Launch a Basic Income Pilot in Prince Edward Island<\/a> appeared first on Basic Income Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1529,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5571,5570,5556,5561,5562,5558,5564,5559],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1529"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27880"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31725,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27880\/revisions\/31725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}