Will Covid-19 Give Canada a Guaranteed Basic Income Plan?
With the adoption early Wednesday morning of legislation to seamlessly transfer Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients over to Employment Insurance, Ottawa has moved one step closer to implementing a guaranteed basic income for all Canadians. The revamped EI program will provide those transitioning from the CERB with an identical $500 per week subsidy for at least 26 weeks. They need not be unemployed—they can work and earn up to a maximum of $38,000 per year while still claiming the EI benefit. That looks remarkably similar to a pilot guaranteed basic income (GBI) trial...
Read MoreCOVID-19 and Guaranteed Basic Income GBI – Minimum Income
March 20, 2020 By Wade Rowland It’s a commonplace to observe that an existential crisis clarifies thought. Frequently, it offers opportunity to do the impossible, to get things straight. Case in point: the graduated income tax, by now universally accepted as the most equitable way to raise money for running any country, was brought in during the crisis of World War 1. It is still with us because it works much better than the system of customs and excise taxes it largely replaced. It was introduced, reluctantly, by a Conservative government, under Sir Robert Borden. It was...
Read MoreAbout Wade Rowland
Ranked among Canada’s leading literary journalists, Wade Davies Rowland has written more than a dozen books on subjects ranging from television journalism, organized crime, and international environmental law to his current concerns, which include communications technology, the philosophy of science, and technology and human values. Full author bio.