Toronto Star
Canada is taking its baby steps toward a basic income program meant to broadly address poverty.
The Senate’s national finance committee began looking into Sen. Kim Pate’s proposal for a national framework for a universal basic income program on Oct. 17. Since as far back as the 1970s, Canada has flirted with the idea of a basic income program.
The push for a basic income program gained more momentum during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — which paid out $2,000 a month to millions of Canadians — raised the possibility of a permanent income program.
