What is basic income?
Basic income is a policy approach that federal or provincial governments could take to guarantee a minimum income to all citizens, regardless of their work status.
The case for basic Income
Many Canadians live in low income, including 11.6% (or 61,115) of people in Simcoe Muskoka. A person’s income has a big impact on their overall quality of life as well as their physical and mental health. People with less money have higher rates of chronic diseases, mental health concerns, and are more likely to die earlier than those who have more money. Low income levels also cost our Canadian healthcare, economic, and criminal justice systems a lot of money.
A basic income would ensure that everyone could afford all the basic things they need to live a healthy life with dignity, such as food, housing, transportation, and medical care. This would help improve the overall health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities with the added benefit of saving our healthcare, economic, and criminal justice systems money in the long-run.
For these reasons, over the past few years the health unit has advocated for a basic income. Presently, with the economic hardships experienced by many Canadians due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMDHU strongly believes that the time to implement a basic income is now. Find out more by reading our letter of May 20, 2020, that asks the federal government to provide a basic income for all Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
What can be done?
Be Aware
Get Involved
- Talk about the need for basic income with family, friends, and coworkers.
- Share our No Money for Food is Cent$less resources on social media and with your local, provincial and federal government leaders.
- Contact or write to your local municipal elected officials and encourage them to advocate for a basic income.
- Contact or write to your federal Member of Parliament (MP) or provincial Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) asking them to support a basic income.
