CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A historic new private member’s bill in the House of Commons on basic income has Marie Burge excited for what it could mean for P.E.I. but unsettled by where the government’s priorities lie.
Bill C-273, introduced by Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz on Feb. 22, seeks to establish a national strategy for a guaranteed basic income.
The problem is that the bill is lodged with the minister of finance, said Burge, a member of the P.E.I. Working Group for a Livable Income.
“I can understand the logic of it because finances, they are key, but they’re not the key,” said Burge. “That key has to be human beings who are being considered as we talk about people’s right to a basic income to cover their basic needs.”
Test bed
The bill was seconded by Wayne Easter, Liberal MP for Malpeque, who chairs the standing committee on finance of which Dzerowicz is a member.
If it were to become law, the bill would require the minister of finance to table their strategy within two years, which would include a pilot project in one or more provinces to test models of guaranteed basic income programs.
Late last year, the P.E.I. government’s special committee on poverty found there was enough evidence to prove that a basic income program could effectively eliminate poverty here.
Full basic income on P.E.I. would cost $260 million
However Easter isn’t so sure.
“There’s some will tell you, ‘look, it’s been tried elsewhere.’” he said. “There’s nowhere it’s been fully implemented in the world.”
He feels a long-term pilot lasting four or five years and encompassing all of P.E.I. would allow the government to get more data.
“Let’s get the data so that both sides of the equation can see the data and we can make decisions.”
Sean Casey, Liberal MP for Charlottetown, agrees and thinks P.E.I. is the perfect place for such a pilot given its two urban centres, rural communities, sizable immigrant population, various industries and a linguistic minority in the Acadians, he said.
“So all of those things ... allow us to replicate many of the conditions that exist right across Canada.”
Burge, on the other hand, thinks the time for tests are over.
“They have been tested all over the world. For years these things have been done.”
While Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal MP for Cardigan, wasn’t as committed to a pilot project as his counterparts, basic income is worthy of consideration, he said.
“I think it’s pretty important that the discussion takes place. What we’re going to do remains to be seen, but it has to be discussed and it is being discussed.”
It’s important enough that one of the priority resolutions for the upcoming Liberal national convention, scheduled for April 9-10, will be to make a basic income guarantee part of the official policy of the party.
At a glance
- Bill C-273 calls for the minister of finance to develop a national strategy to assess implementation models for a guaranteed basic income program in Canada.
- In developing the strategy, the minister must consult with the minister of employment and social development, the minister of industry, representatives of provincial governments, leaders of Indigenous communities and governments, representatives of municipal governments, experts in guaranteed basic income pilot projects, the academic community and key stakeholders, including representatives of organizations involved in labour and employment and in entrepreneurship and innovation.
- Part of the strategy has to include measures to establish a pilot project in one or more provinces, create a framework to guide the implementation of a guaranteed basic income program; collect and analyze data for the purpose of assessing, for each model tested and establish metrics that may be used to measure the effects and benefits.
- The national strategy must be tabled within two years after the bill is passed.
Meaningful discussions
When Burge first heard of the bill, she was surprised.
She and those she works with have been lobbying the federal government for a year and a half, she said.
“I would have said this time last year, I’ll be dead and gone before this ever comes up in the House of Commons.”
Though Burge worries the bill could be another example of the government kicking the can down the line, she’s happy to see the topic discussed in Parliament, she said.
“But I’m still saying it does create a new level of importance for the issue itself by having it in the House of Commons.”
Michael Robar is The Guardian's national affairs reporter.
