Basic Income: What is it and what could it mean for social assistance?

Recorded on October 14, 2016 - The Ontario government is moving forward on creating a basic income pilot program. What is a “basic income”? And what could it mean for people on social assistance?

This webinar explores some of the reasons people support a basic income program, some of the benefits, risks, and opportunities that it could bring, and the 6 key questions that people on social assistance and their allies should ask when examining a proposal for a basic income program.

The provincial government will be releasing a report from Hugh Segal, the Special Advisor on Basic Income, in mid-October, 2016. They will also be asking for input and debate on the recommendations in his report. We hope that the issues raised in this webinar will help you prepare for that process.

About the presenter

Jennefer is Research and Policy Analyst at the Income Security Advocacy Centre, a specialty community legal clinic mandated to advocate for improvements to the income security of people in Ontario. Jennefer has been at ISAC since 2007, and does research and policy analysis, government relations, communications, outreach and public education, primarily on social assistance issues. She serves on the steering committees of Ontario Campaign 2000 and the Low-Income Energy Network and the Board of Directors of Canadians for Tax Fairness.

Please note: Our videos are embedded on Vimeo and are best played using Firefox, Safari or Chrome.

Basic Income: What is it and what could it mean for social assistance? from CLEO Webinars on Vimeo.


For more information on Basic Income

Basic Income: Rethinking Social Policy
Edited by Alex Himelfarb and Trish Hennessy
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ontario Office
* Note that this is an edited collection with contributions from 15 authors who bring a variety of perspectives to the basic income debate, so you may wish to start with this.

A Policymaker’s Guide to Basic Income 
David MacDonald, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Policy Brief: Would a universal basic income reduce poverty?
Noah Zon, Maytree Foundation
Pilot Lessons: How to design a basic income pilot project for Ontario
Evelyn L. Forget, Dylan Marando, Tonya Surman & Michael Crawford Urban, Mowat Centre
Basic Income Canada Network Resources page
http://www.basicincomecanada.org/resources