e-4027 (Social affairs and equality)

The Government of Canada is taking crucial steps to help make life more affordable for more Canadians, while investing to grow the economy and create jobs.  

It is important to acknowledge that income security is a shared responsibility across different levels of government. As such, the federal Government recognizes the importance of working with provinces and territories to find solutions to common challenges.

This petition calls for the implementation of a Guaranteed Livable Income, which can be viewed as equivalent to a basic income. The Government of Canada already has ongoing programs with features of a partial basic income, such as the Canada Child Benefit for families with children, as well as the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. In addition, existing programs such as the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) and Employment Insurance (EI) help low-income individuals that have labour market attachment or those with insurable employment. These and other initiatives have contributed to progress on lifting Canadians out of poverty. These programs exist alongside provincial and territorial programs, including those that deliver social assistance.

The Government of Canada continues to build on the strong action taken since 2015 to make life more affordable and build an economy that works for all Canadians. In 2022, the Government announced the Affordability Plan?, a suite of measures totaling $12.1 billion in new support to help make life more affordable for millions of Canadians, including enhancements to existing benefits such as the CWB and Goods and Services Tax Credit, as well as new investments in dental care and housing affordability.  The 2022 Fall Economic Statement contained additional affordability measures, which build on the strong action we have been taking since 2015 to make life more affordable and build an economy that works for all Canadians. As well, the Government of Canada reintroduced framework legislation for the Canada Disability Benefit (Bill C-22) in the House of Commons in June, 2022, a key component of Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan, to reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities.  

The Government of Canada continually undertakes research and analysis on potential basic income programs and other approaches that could positively impact Canada’s economy and society, as part of its efforts to tackle poverty and to ensure that all Canadians have a real and fair opportunity to succeed. Findings from this analysis underscore that a basic income program would represent a major change in Canada's social safety net, not only in scope and scale, but also in the way it would have to engage provincial and territorial jurisdictions over social assistance. Nevertheless, if a provincial or territorial government decides to proceed with a basic income pilot, the Government of Canada would be pleased to share federal-level administrative, survey, and tax data that could support program design and evaluation. As we move towards economic recovery, the Government is continuing to explore a variety of potential shorter and longer-term policy responses that could address the ongoing needs of Canadians.