Basic Income for Canadians: The key to a healthier, happier, more secure life for all

by Evelyn L Forget

Canadian social programs were designed for a world in which most people graduated from high school, then found a permanent job with benefits that, barring unforeseen accidents, they would hold until they retired with a pension -- all under the benevolent eye of their workplace union. In the last forty years, however, the labour market has fundamentally changed. Good, full-time jobs have been replaced by part-time or temporary work that pays lower wages, offers fewer benefits and rarely comes with union support. Economic insecurity is now a feature of the lives for large numbers of people. Even advanced degrees do not guarantee young workers stable, well-paying jobs.

This new situation has given new life to an old idea -- basic income. This book explores this idea from a Canadian perspective. Basic income was tested in Manitoba in the 1970s. This and other experiments with basic income have shown that it improves family and community health and well-being, leads to a healthier attachment to the labour market, improves financial resilience and encourages education and training.

Author Evelyn L. Forget discusses how Canada would set a basic income, what it would accomplish, how it could be implemented, whether Canadians can afford it and how it would fit into the overall social policy landscape.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2018