Investing in well-being: A guaranteed livable income for Canada

Patty is a single mother of one child in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Rent and heat take up so much of her monthly social assistance allowance of $1123 that she needs to visit a food bank in order to have enough to eat. It is difficult for her to afford clothing and school supplies for her son.

Rajan and his family immigrated to Canada three years ago. They are now permanent residents, but Rajan hasn’t been able to work as an engineer. Instead, he is working two minimum wage jobs paying $8 an hour just to afford rent for a two bedroom apartment in Vancouver.

Tom used to be an assembly line worker in an autoplant in St. Thomas, Ontario. 6 months ago, he lost his $35 an hour job because of layoffs at the plant. He knew his EI benefits weren’t going to last very long, so he needed a new job quickly. But because Tom doesn’t have many in-demand skills, he could only find a job paying $12 an hour. Now Tom doesn’t know how he’s going to make ends meet.

Income insecurity affects many Canadians – in 2005, 10.8% of Canadians were under the poverty line, and nearly half of Canadians polled by Environics in 2006 said they were only one or two missed paycheques away from poverty.

Our current social assistance and income security programs aren’t having a major impact on income security. While they may prevent absolute poverty, they provide little to help people find their way out of poverty. And in most cases, Canadians who receive social assistance remain well beneath the poverty line, forcing people to make choices between food, housing and other basic necessities. Neither work nor social programs ensure that all Canadians have enough income to meet their basic needs.

Poverty and income insecurity represent a significant cost to all Canadians. For individuals, there is a lack of dignity and opportunities to participate fully in society, as well as feelings of anxiety and exclusion. For society, there are health care and judicial costs, loss of economic productivity and loss of other contributions to communities.

CPJ believes that a guaranteed livable income (GLI) could help to ensure that every Canadian can access the basic necessities of life. Similar to Canada’s Old Age Security program for seniors, a GLI is an income security program that guarantees every Canadian a basic level of income.

More information on how GLI could be implemented and CPJ’s position on GLI can be found in our new working documents, “Towards a Guaranteed Livable Income.”

A GLI would offer Patty enough basic income to afford rent, heat, food, clothing and school supplies for her son. It would allow Rajan to provide for his family while working only one job, ensuring that he had time to spend with his family in addition to supporting them financially. And Tom would find his life in less turmoil due to broader economic uncertainty and a lack of in-demand skills.

GLI doesn’t do everything of course. Patty might need the help of her community in obtaining after-school child care for her son. Rajan still needs to get his foreign degrees certified so that he can work as an engineer in Canada. Tom might choose to pursue training to develop skills that are in greater demand. Government programs, voluntary sector programs, and contributions from individuals and businesses will still be required as these individuals engage in fulfilling careers and healthy relationships with their communities.

But GLI would contribute to their well-being, ensuring they all had access to the basic necessities of life while respecting their dignity and encouraging full participation in society.

There are questions of structure and conditions of fairness that would need to be met in any Canadian GLI plan. But there is increasing interest in GLI at the grassroots level, and some encouraging signs politically.

Last week, Senator Hugh Segal asked a Senate committee to consider the possibility of a guaranteed income program, mentioning that it was time for a creative solution to poverty rather than bandaids.

There is much work that remains to be done to gain political support and to develop a plan that works for Canada . But investing in the well-being of all Canadians with a GLI would be well worth the effort.