A defining feature of a universal basic income is that it goes to everybody. Most experiments and most proposed policies, such as the Ontario pilot basic income, although removing labor conditions, in practice are means-tested. Should basic income advocates support such targeting, or push for a universal basic income, with the corresponding changes in the tax system? The panel will focus on how this question has been addressed in Canada.

Is universality worth fighting for? By Michael Howard

Basic Income: Some Policy Options for Canada In Brief by BICN

Michael Howard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Maine, and has been interested in basic income for over two decades. He is the coordinator of USBIG, and coeditor of Basic Income Studies. He co-edited two books, with Karl Widerquist,  on Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend, and has written many articles on topics related to basic income.

Ben is the General Manager of both Basic Income Canada Network and UBI Works. He have more that 15 years experience in community based research and development, and in non-profit management. His interest in basic income stems from his time as a graduate student where he examined the structural violence of poverty in post-industrial communities in Ontario.

Chandra Pasma, Basic Income Canada Network Advisory Council

Chandra is a policy analyst based in Ottawa. She specializes in issues of income security, poverty, and precarious work. She has worked in politics, for non-profits, and currently works for one of Canada’s largest labour unions. As a long-time advocate for basic income, Chandra frequently writes and speaks on the relationship between basic income and employment. Along with Sheila Regehr, Chandra authored the paper Basic Income: Some Policy Options for Canada which modelled some ways in which basic income could be implemented in Canada. Chandra is a member of the Basic Income Canada Network Advisory Council.

Is Universality worth fighting for?