Links are organized in reverse chronological order on this page, with the most recently-added link immediately below this red bar.

Guaranteed Annual Income Student Essays

On June 1, 2010, the Progressive Economics Forum (PEF) announced the winners of its annual student essay contest for this year. In addition to the winning essay on guaranteed annual income from the Graduate category for 2010 (whose link appears below), the page offers links to three essays in the Undergraduate category (one winner and two honourable mentions) as well as links to two honourable mentions in the Graduate category. Click the essay contest link for essays on:
* Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
* Economic prosperity and democratization in developing countries
* An examination of political stability and growth, with special attention to the Kenyan experience
* The Russian financial crisis of 1998, uncontrolled markets and weak government
* The benefits of international trade liberalization

2010 Graduate Category Winner:

(PDF - 596K, 30 pages)
By Richard Pereira
Originally submitted in October 2009 to Athabasca University
This paper explores the history of GAI, its modern development and cost and savings aspects of this public policy. The author supports a universal GAI for Canada that maintains and improves existing minimum hourly wage laws, (un)employment insurance (EI) and the CPP (Canada Pension Plan). It is a truism that "we are all one or two events away from poverty."
Source:

BONUS!
The also includes links to the 25 winning essays since the contest began in 2001. Entries cover a range of subjects related to "political economy, economic theory or an economic policy issue, which best reflects a critical approach to the functioning, efficiency, social and environmental consequences of unconstrained markets."

The next link below is one of the 25 essays you'll find at the above link.
I'm including it here because it's also about GAI...

(PDF - 362K, 40 pages)
By 2008 Undergraduate co-winner Evan Rosevear
Original Submission Date: July 19th 2007
In order to facilitate the democratic legitimacy of the Canadian state an institutional system which guarantees the economic security and independence of all Canadians is needed. This guarantee must be universal, and constructed not as a means by which supplicants receive assistance from their supposed betters, but as a right of citizenship. A right which facilitates political engagement.

Source:

PEF aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

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Hugh Segal's Guaranteed Annual Income Proposal + The Debate- April 28
(The Agenda - TV Ontario)

April 28, 2010
On Wednesday of this past week, TV Ontario's The Agenda aired an hour-long program on guaranteed annual income (GAI).

The first link below is to a video clip of host/moderator Steve Paikin speaking with GAI champion Senator Hugh Segal about his proposal to scrap most of Canada's financial assistance programs and re-assign their budgets to a national, adequate and sustainable guaranteed annual income program. The second link (which is actually part of the first link due to stoopid page layout) is to a debate on the costs and consequences of establishing a GAI in Canada, and it involves a vigorous debate between the Red Tory Senator and a National Post editorial board member. You can tell it's a vigorous debate just from the number of times you hear the debaters say "with due respect" - count 'em...
(Have you ever noticed that sometimes "With due respect" comes across as "You're full of crap, you windbag"??)

(video, 18 minutes)
Why Canada can afford to ensure every citizen has a guaranteed annual income:
The Agenda host Steve Paikin speaks one-on-one with Senator Hugh Segal.

The Debate: Guaranteed Annual Income (video, 36 minutes)
NOTE: To access the second video, click the link above (to the first video), then click on the tab just above the video screen that says "Guaranteed Annual Income"
(Stoopid page layout.)
The Debaters:
Senator Hugh Segal discusses his proposal for a made-in-Canada guaranteed annual income program with:
Tasha Kheiriddin, columnist and member of the editorial board of the National Post
Evelyn Forget, professor of Health Economics at the University of Manitoba
Ken Battle, President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy.
Steve Paikin moderates (or should I say referees) the discussion.

__________________________

Related links from TV Ontario:
The links below are from a sidebar on the main page for the GAI videos (the first link under the above red bar)

(PDF - 106K, 10 pages)
April 11, 2008
By Ken Battle
Source:

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Yes, Virginia, There is a Guaranteed Annual Income
December 2000
By Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman

(PDF file, 2 pages)
Source:

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Economic Security Fact Sheet #2: Poverty
(Undated file, but the latest stats in the fact sheet are for 2004)

(143K, 15 pages)
Source:

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October 2009 Research Profile
A new look at a radical experiment in Manitoba 35 years ago shows that guaranteeing people an annual income leads to better health.
Source:

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Guaranteed Annual Income Links
- 150+ links to GAI resources online
Source:
Canadian Social Research
(Hey, that's me - thanks for the plug!)

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By Laurie Monsebraaten
March 5, 2007
Source:

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February 17, 2008
Source:

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A History of the North American Guaranteed Annual Income Social Experiments
By Evelyn Forget
University of Manitoba
May 2008

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September 2006
Welfare study shows need for guaranteed income by Senator Hugh Segal
NOTE: see also:
--- 150+ links to relevant articles by a host of Canadian and international authors
Source:

* --- 168 links!
* - links to over 20 issues of the Citizen's Income newsletter

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By Father Raymond J. de Souza
May 21, 2009
Source:

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(PDF - 3.8MB, 290 pages)
The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology
Report of the Subcommittee on Cities
The Honourable Art Eggleton P.C., Chair
The Honourable Hugh Segal, Deputy Chair
December 2009
[ ]

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By Bruce Campion-Smith
February 11, 2008
Source:

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February 14, 2008
Source:

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Source:

[ ]

Conference
Montreal, 15 - 16 April 2010
[* "Basic income" = guaranteed annual income]

Times of economic turmoil raise difficult questions but also offer radical new opportunities to rethink and perhaps even rebuild the economic fabric of our society. The current global economic recession is no exception. In recent months a growing number of activists and scholars have promoted the idea of a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) as a feasible and desirable policy instrument to help us out of the current economic crisis.

The prospects and challenges of a BIG policy at a time of economic upheaval is the topic of a 2 day conference held on 15-16 April 2010 at the University of Montréal, hosted by the Centre de Recherche en Éthique de l’Université de Montréal (CRÉUM), BIEN Canada and the US Basic Income Guarantee network (USBIG).

This first collaboration between the US and Canadian chapters of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) includes keynote addresses from Dr. Louise Haagh (University of York), Prof. Guy Standing (University of Bath), and Senator Eduardo Suplicy (São Paulo, Brasil), as well as a Political Forum on “The Politics of the Basic Income Guarantee” featuring Senators Art Eggleton and Hugh Segal, Tony Martin MP, Amélie Châteauneuf (spokesperson of FCPASQ), Rob Rainer (Executive Director of Canada Without Poverty), Al Sheahen (Executive Committee Member of USBIG), and Sheila Regehr (Director of National Council of Welfare).

In addition there will be 5 panels with more than a dozen papers from scholars and practitioners discussing a variety of issues related to the prospects and challenges of introducing a BIG in Canada or the US.

Everyone is welcome to attend and participation is free.
To register for the conference please email Jurgen De Wispelaere
at with your name and institutional affiliation.

The Basic Income Earth Network was founded in 1986 as the Basic Income European Network. It expanded its scope from European to the Earth in 2004. It is an international network that serves as a link between individuals and groups committed to or interested in basic income, and fosters informed discussion of the topic throughout the world.
- incl. links to: * About BIEN * About Basic Income * NewsFlash * Congresses * Papers and Resources * Membership * Links * Contact

NewsFlash - the BIEN newsletter:

(PDF - 146K, 18 pages)
December 15, 2009
* Editorial: Call for Papers, BIEN Congress July 2010
* Events
* Glimpses of National Debates --- including Canada
* Publications
* New Links
* About BIEN
Source:
- newsletter (incl. archives)
BIEN's NewsFlash is mailed electronically every two months to over 1,500 subscribers throughout the world.
Free subscription : send a request by email to
[ - back to 2006]

- incl. links to National Affiliates and general GAI/Basic Income resources

Source:

Canada’s welfare system is stuck in the Victorian era, wasting billions. It’s time to drop the old, failed approach
December 15, 2009
By Senator Hugh Segal
Any company, domestic or international, that invested $150-billion annually in a specific project and saw no change in the quality of results would initiate a serious review or serious staff changes at the top. And if it did not, investors, both individual and institutional and shareholders generally would justifiably complain. That is where the federal and provincial governments now find themselves on the challenge of poverty. StatsCan reports that Ottawa and the provinces have, since 2007, spent $150-billion annually on transfers in a range of income security programs unrelated to education and health care. This is serious taxpayer coin — funds that might better be used in tax cuts, defence, research and development and other productive investments for economic or national security in the future. (...) Governments have a rare opportunity to break out of the old path dependency on Victorian-age welfare programs and embrace a simpler, tax-based radical re-cast of how we address poverty.
Source:

By Lindor Reynolds
November 28, 2009
DAUPHIN — Thirty-five years ago, this pretty town surrounded by farm land and far from big cities was the site of a revolutionary social experiment. For five years, Mincome ensured there would be no poverty in Dauphin. Wages were topped up and the working poor given a boost. The experiment, a collaboration between Ed Schreyer's provincial NDP and the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau, would cost millions before the plug was pulled. The program saw one-third of Dauphin's poorest families get monthly cheques. In 1971, at a federal-provincial conference held in Victoria, Manitoba expressed interest in being the testing ground for a guaranteed income project. The Schreyer government applied for funding. In June, 1974, Mincome was approved...
Source:

More thoughts on
guaranteed income from Hugh Segal:

(Word file - 60K, 22 pages)
June 2008

(PDF - 172K, 6 pages)
April 2008

(PDF - 1.8MB, 38 pages)
November 2009
The living wage is calculated as the hourly rate at which a household can meet its basic needs, once government transfers have been added to the family’s income (such as the Universal Child Care Benefit) and deductions have been subtracted (such as income taxes and Employment Insurance premiums). (...) There is a paradox when, despite steady economic growth and consistently low unemployment rates, we have the second highest level of child poverty in the country and the third highest poverty rate. The living wage provides a way to address this paradox. It provides a means for ensuring that individuals and families with children can live with dignity and therefore fully participate in their communities and at work.
Source:

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(PDF - 361K, 38 pages)
By Margot Young and
James P. Mulvale
October 30, 2009
The idea of a guaranteed income has a long and respectable history in Canadian political and economic thought. Recently, in the face of both wide criticism of the Canadian income security system and growing recognition of the unacceptability of current poverty rates, there has been a resurgence in calls for implementation of a Canadian guaranteed income. But the idea is a controversial one; progressive activists, academics, and politicians disagree about the desirability and the practicality of a guaranteed income. This report traces the history of guaranteed income proposals in Canada, reviews the arguments in favour and against, and suggests a number of other social welfare measures that should be central elements of any reform program, but that guaranteed income debates often ignore.
Source:

Sign if you support:
- the GAI (Guaranteed Annual Income) - also known as CI (Citizen’s Income) - as a solution to persistent poverty in Canada.
- the full maintenance and improvement of the EI (Employment Insurance) and CPP (Canada Pension Plan) programs toward full universality.
- the elimination of means-tested welfare to be replaced by the GAI as a universal social right of Canadian citizenship.
- the belief that this is a requirement for Canada to meet the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) objectives in achieving income security, social inclusion and human dignity for all of its citizens.
I signed, because I support these views.
Gilles

October 11, 2009:

October 5, 2009

Related links:

Workshop
October 1-2, 2009 (Ottawa)
"The purpose of this workshop is to share perspectives and build understandings about approaches to Guaranteed Income. BIEN Canada believes that such sharing will aid the continued growth and mobilization of a network of individuals and organizations in Canada committed to realizing an expanded basic/guaranteed income system for Canada, and thus to realizing income security for all Canadians. The workshop is designed to both inform and engage participants in discussion of a variety of approaches and models for achieving Guaranteed Income and universal income security. The target audience includes “first voice” persons (those with the lived experience of poverty), academics and researchers, social justice movements, community organizations, social and economic policy analysts, and government officials and politicians."

(PDF - 141K, 3 pages)
Updated to September 28, 2009

Background paper:

(PDF - 181K, 12 pages)
This paper provides an introduction to guaranteed or basic income, highlighting the policy debates and the history of the idea in Canada. Participants in the BIEN Canada Ottawa conference should read this paper to provide context for the detailed policy discussions and conversations of the conference.

Sponsored by

Hosted by:

New from :

(PDF - 396K, 26 pages)
April 8, 2009
Concerns about a possible work disincentive appear to be one of the biggest obstacles to guaranteed livable income. In this paper, presented at the USBIG Congress 2009, policy analyst Chandra Pasma examines the assumptions that underlie the belief in a work disincentive. Experimental evidence suggests that the work disincentive is not a significant concern, but it remains a political issue. Advocates therefore need to be able to frame arguments that counter these fears. Should we be paying people to “do nothing?”

- links to 10 reports (three of which appear below):

*
By Chandra Pasma
October 27, 2008
- includes links to the roundtable on guaranteed annual income hosted by the Senate Sub-Committee on Cities, and the Basic Income International Congress in Ireland.

*
By Chandra Pasma
January 5, 2009
- is it okay to let people live in poverty if they don’t work? Or, as the question is more commonly framed, is it right to pay people to do nothing?(...) Does everybody have a right to food, to shelter, to a basic minimum of security, and to clothing? International human rights commitments say yes.

*
By Chandra Pasma
February 24, 2009
It is simply not reasonable to assume that every Canadian who wants a job could have a job, let alone a good job that meets their needs and matches their skills and interests. We should therefore be wary of any attempts to allow access to income security be solely determined by participation in the paid labour force. GLI would be one way of ensuring that every Canadian has income security, even when there is no job available to them.

- this link takes you to the latest blog entry, where you'll also find links to earlier entries at the bottom of the page.
NOTE : I highly recommend this blog --- the extensive collection of entries is timely, and each entry contains at least a few links to related resources. In this blog, links to resources are bolded (as opposed to underlined and blue, as they are in more traditional websites, like the one you're on right now).

Source:

We are a faithful response to God’s call for love, justice and stewardship. We envision a world in which individuals, communities, societal institutions and governments all contribute to and benefit from the common good. Our mission is to promote public justice in Canada by shaping key public policy debates through research and analysis, publishing and public dialogue.
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Related links:

Theme: Inequality and Development in a Globalised Economy - The Basic Income Option
- links to over 60 Powerpoint presentations and papers presented at the Dublin BIEN Congress in late June 2008
- sample presentation titles and plenary themes:
[ NOTE: only the first few titles below are hyperlinked - click the link above to access links to all papers. ]

* (Word file - 60K, 22 pages) - by Senator Hugh Segal, Canada
* (Word file - 96K, 26 pages) - by Pat Evans (Carleton University, Ottawa)
* (Powerpoint - 109K, 15 slides) - by James Mulvale (University of Regina, Canada)
* (Word file - 50K, 15 pages) - by William Clegg (National Anti-Poverty Organisation, Canada)
* What is an appropriate level of minimum income?
* The Case for a Universal State Pension: Lessons from New Zealand for Ireland's Green Paper on Pensions
* Basic Income in Ireland: surveying three decades
* Inequality and Development in a Globalised Economy - WHY Basic Income is a major part of the answer
* Pensions and Basic Income
* Global and Regional Issues
* Gender and Care I: Should Feminists Embrace Basic Income?
* An Institutional Perspective on Basic Income
* Social Justice and the Meaning of Life
* The Rise and Fall of a Basic Income Guarantee Bill in the U.S. Congress
* much, much more
[ ]

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(51 printed pages)
June 13, 2008
Highly recommended reading!
On 13 June 2008, the Senate Sub-Committee on Cities held a Roundtable on the topic of "Guaranteed Annual Income: Has Its Time Come?"
--- valuable insights on guaranteed income from recognized experts in the field of guaranteed annual income, including Derek Hum (father of Mincome Manitoba), Senator Hugh Segal, Sheila Regehr (Director, National Council of Welfare), Rob Rainer (Executive Director, National Anti-Poverty Organization), professors Lars Osberg and Jim Mulvale, Michael Mendelson of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Marie White (Council of Canadians with Disabilities) and many others.

- includes links to online resources and to relevant books, along with a "Readings" section where you'll find essays by CIT site owner/administrator Terry Rourke of Toronto and to documents about CIT from a number of other sources.

<===click for the content of the latest issue.
- the content of this link changes each time the newsletter is updated with the latest news and views on citizen's income in Canada, along with links to the international CIT network
[ ]

NOTE: Like the , CIT is not a supporter of the , as stated in the latest (April 13) CIT newsletter: "...the '25 in 5' thing is something thought up by social agencies who most impoverished people despise."

GAI and the 2008 federal election:

On September 17, the Green Party of Canada released its platform for the 2008 federal election.
For more detail, see the 2008 federal election page of this site:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/politics_2008_fed_election.htm#green

Related links:

From the :

September 13, 2008
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May isn't shy about touting her party's conservative credentials. For some, the party's name conjures images of left-wing tree huggers. But May emphasizes a picture of a socially progressive group with fiscally conservative ideas. Even members of the Conservative party's natural constituency, she believes, would feel at home with the Greens. (...)
Election pledge re. eliminating poverty
* Remove income taxes on those living below the poverty line.
* Increase Guaranteed Income Supplements to seniors by 25 per cent.
* As a first step to a guaranteed annual income, give an additional $5,000 a year to adults currently on welfare and strike deals with provinces so it doesn't get clawed back.

From the :

September 8,.2008
OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May today highlighted both the need to eliminate poverty in Canada and promote local food on her first election campaign stop in Ottawa. (...) To eliminate poverty and hunger, the Green Party would look at introducing a Guaranteed Livable Income for Canadians. As a regular annual payment, negotiation with the provinces could allow Guaranteed Livable Income supplements to be set regionally. Setting the payment at a level adequate for subsistence will still encourage additional income generation."

Senate Convenes Roundtable on Guaranteed Income
On 13 June 2008, the Senate Sub-Committee on Cities held a Roundtable on the topic of "Guaranteed Annual Income: Has Its Time Come?"

(51 printed pages)
June 13, 2008
Highly recommended reading --- valuable insights on guaranteed income from recognized experts in the field of guaranteed annual income, including Derek Hum (father of Mincome Manitoba), Senator Hugh Segal, Sheila Regehr (Director, National Council of Welfare), Rob Rainer (Executive Director, National Anti-Poverty Organization), professors Lars Osberg and Jim Mulvale, Michael Mendelson of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Marie White (Council of Canadians with Disabilities) and many others.

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BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) Canada Founded

A group of 18 people from Canada met at the (BIEN) that was held in Dublin, Ireland in late June 2008. (See the link to 60+ conference papers and presentations below.) After some discussion, a motion was made and supported unanimously to petition BIEN to recognize our group as their national affiliate for Canada. This recognition was in fact granted the next day at the BIEN General Assembly. (At this meeting, three other groups from Mexico, Italy, and Japan were also recognized as new national affiliates of BIEN.)

Basic (or guaranteed) income is a model of economic security that BIEN has discussed, researched, and promoted since its founding in 1986. This model calls for the granting by the state of an assured and adequate income for all, without any requirements for means testing or compulsory labour market attachment.

More information about Basic Income and BIEN can be found at

With the establishment and recognition of BIEN Canada, a Steering Group is now setting to work on such tasks as extending the membership of the network, putting our group on a firm organizational footing, and planning ongoing activities and future events.

Two well-known Canadian politicians concerned about poverty reduction were part of the initiative to establish BIEN Canada - Senator Hugh Segal and Member of Parliament Tony Martin. The National Anti-Poverty Organization also took part in the founding of BIEN Canada, as well as numerous researchers, social policy analysts, and advocates.

If you wish to be added to the BIEN Canada e-mail list, please contact:
(Jim Mulvale, Dept. of Justice Studies, University of Regina)

Related links:

Theme: Inequality and Development in a Globalised Economy - The Basic Income Option
- links to over 60 Powerpoint presentations and papers presented at the Dublin BIEN Congress in late June 2008
- sample presentation titles and plenary themes:
[ NOTE: only a few of the titles & themes below are hyperlinked - click the link above to access links to all papers. ]
* What is an appropriate level of minimum income?
* The Case for a Universal State Pension: Lessons from New Zealand for Ireland's Green Paper on Pensions
* Basic Income in Ireland: surveying three decades
* Inequality and Development in a Globalised Economy - WHY Basic Income is a major part of the answer
* Pensions and Basic Income
* Global and Regional Issues
* Gender and Care I: Should Feminists Embrace Basic Income?
* An Institutional Perspective on Basic Income I
* Social Justice and the Meaning of Life
* The Rise and Fall of a Basic Income Guarantee Bill in the U.S. Congress
* (Word file - 60K, 22 pages) - by Senator Hugh Segal, Canada
* (Word file - 96K, 26 pages) - by Pat Evans (Carleton University, Ottawa)
* (Powerpoint - 109K, 15 slides) - by James Mulvale (University of Regina, Canada)
* (Word file - 50K, 15 pages) - by William Clegg (National Anti-Poverty Organisation, Canada)
* much, much more!

June 20, 2008
By Carol Goar
OTTAWA–The longing for a simple, affordable plan to reduce poverty runs deep. It has propelled the idea of a guaranteed annual income onto the national agenda no fewer than five times since the 1970s. But no proposal has ever had enough momentum to overcome the political and practical barriers that stand in the way of implementation.Senator Hugh Segal believes Canada is close to the breakthrough point. "Our current programs haven't made a jot of progress (in reducing poverty)," he says. "We've tried everything else. Why don't we try a basic income floor?" Segal, a Conservative, was addressing the Senate committee on cities chaired by Art Eggleton, a Liberal. Despite Ottawa's fiercely partisan climate, the Senate remains an oasis of civil and informed debate.
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Source

More from Hugh Segal: