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Towards a More Fair and Fast Economic Recovery

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A Canada where  everyone can pursue their potential.

Our Work

The Team

We are a group of business leaders, economists, artists, public relations pros, and civic minded Canadians

What We Do

We equip Canadians with evidence-based narratives that basic income is good for the economy

COVID-19:
Demand an Emergency Basic Income in Canada

An estimated 30-70% of Canadians will be infected with COVID-19. We know that basic income improves health outcomes, resulting in fewer hospitilizations, fewer visits to health practitioners, and reduced food insecurity.  To ensure that we can all confidently follow the public health measures that this pandemic demands, we call on the federal government to institute an emergency basic income.

Economic Contribution of The Canada Child Benefit: A Basic Income Guarantee For Canadian Families With Children

Canada has a national-scale unconditional basic income in place for people with children, it is called the Canada Child Benefit. It’s good for families and it is good for the economy. This new paper released Sept 19 by the Canadian Center for Economic Analysis shows us how it works.

Key Summary & Findings
We believe that UBI works as a key building block in the realization of a human-centred capitalism that promotes innovation as well as the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and communities across Canada.

We understand that the changing nature of work, driven by technology and globalization, has created many opportunities for the improvement of human life.
However, the gains from technological innovation have been highly uneven, with technological job displacement polarizing the economy: creating more low income jobs than high income jobs and splitting cities and provinces into large low income regions and select higher income regions, as middle class jobs continue to be displaced.
Learn more
October 2018

CEOs for Basic Income

UBI Works founder, Floyd Marinescu, led 120 Canadian CEOs, representing over $2.3 billion in annual revenues, to sign a letter in support of Universal Basic Income and urge Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, to resume the cancelled Ontario Basic Income Pilot.

Learn more
September 2019

Economic Contribution of the Canada Child Benefit

UBI Works commissioned the Canadian Center for Economic Analysis to study the economic impacts of the Canada Child Benefit, a basic income for Canadian families.

Learn more
October 2019

Basic Income March Toronto

We organized the first ever Basic Income March in Toronto, joining more than 20 cities around the world on October 26, 2020 to march in support of basic income.

Learn more
November 2019

Ontario Liberal Party 2020 Leadership Race

Between November 2019 and March 2020, UBI Works organized activists to attend Ontario Liberal Party debates, holding signs and demonstrating public support for UBI, working closely with Alvin Tedjo.

Learn more
March 2020

COVID-19 Emergency UBI Petition

UBI Works launched a petition for an Emergency UBI, garnering over 30,000 signatures and emails to MPs, covering all 338 federal ridings within a week. The petition was endorsed by Canadian senators, MPs, and US Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang.

Learn more
March 2020

Ontario Liberal Party Convention

On March 7, 2020, UBI Works founder, Floyd Marinescu, gave a talk with a 6.5'-tall robot named Tech in front of over 2,000 politicos, including former Premiers of Ontario, MPs, MPPs, and delegates, about automation and the urgency for UBI.

Learn more
April 2020

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) Guide

UBI Works launched a Step-By-Step CERB guide to help Canadians with application and eligibility, reaching the 1st page of Google search results for a number of key CERB-related searches.

Learn more
October 2023

Recovery UBI Campaign

UBI Works launched a campaign for a Recovery Universal Basic Income in Canada. Sign the petition today for more fair and fast post-pandemic economic recovery.

Learn more
October 2018

CEOs for Basic Income

UBI Works founder, Floyd Marinescu, led 120 Canadian CEOs, representing over $2.3 billion in annual revenues, to sign a letter in support of Universal Basic Income and urge Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, to resume the cancelled Ontario Basic Income Pilot.

Learn more
September 2019

Economic Contribution of the Canada Child Benefit

UBI Works commissioned the Canadian Center for Economic Analysis to study the economic impacts of the Canada Child Benefit, a basic income for Canadian families.

Learn more
October 2019

Basic Income March Toronto

We organized the first ever Basic Income March in Toronto, joining more than 20 cities around the world on October 26, 2020 to march in support of basic income.

Learn more
November 2019

Ontario Liberal Party 2020 Leadership Race

Between November 2019 and March 2020, UBI Works organized activists to attend Ontario Liberal Party debates, holding signs and demonstrating public support for UBI, working closely with Alvin Tedjo.

Learn more
March 2020

COVID-19 Emergency UBI Petition

UBI Works launched a petition for an Emergency UBI, garnering over 30,000 signatures and emails to MPs, covering all 338 federal ridings within a week. The petition was endorsed by Canadian senators, MPs, and US Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang.

Learn more
March 2020

Ontario Liberal Party Convention

On March 7, 2020, UBI Works founder, Floyd Marinescu, gave a talk with a 6.5'-tall robot named Tech in front of over 2,000 politicos, including former Premiers of Ontario, MPs, MPPs, and delegates, about automation and the urgency for UBI.

Learn more
April 2020

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) Guide

UBI Works launched a Step-By-Step CERB guide to help Canadians with application and eligibility, reaching the 1st page of Google search results for a number of key CERB-related searches.

Learn more
October 2023

Recovery UBI Campaign

UBI Works launched a campaign for a Recovery Universal Basic Income in Canada. Sign the petition today for more fair and fast post-pandemic economic recovery.

Learn more

Proof Points You Can Share Right Now

Our Projects & Campaigns
120 Canadian CEOs Say UBI is Urgent

In Oct 2018 we organized the launch of the Canadian CEOs for Basic Income with a letter signed by over 120 Canadian CEOs with combined corporate incomes of over $2.3B CAD.   The letter lays the economic arguments for basic income and asked Doug Ford to not cancel the Ontario Pilot.  The founders and CEOs who understand the issues overwhelmingly support a basic income in Canada.

1.2M Canadian Families already get a Basic Income and it has grown the economy

Since 2016,  Canada has already had a basic income for people with children and it has grown the economy and created jobs while inflation has been low.  Over 1.2M families get an average of $680/month through the Canada Child Benefit.

105,000 People Got A Basic Income and Kept Working

The reply every advocate needs when responding to doubts about whether people will work, or calls for more pilots.  We don’t need more pilots.  Professor Richard Gilbert conducted a meta study of 16 basic income trials in the last 50 years found that there was no work disincentive.

Get Updates to These Projects

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Our Belief

We believe that UBI works as a key building block in the realization of a human-centred capitalism that promotes innovation as well as the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and communities across Canada.

We understand that the changing nature of work, driven by technology and globalization, has created many opportunities for the improvement of human life.

However, the gains from technological innovation have been highly uneven, with technological job displacement polarizing the economy: creating more low income jobs than high income jobs and splitting cities and provinces into large low income regions and select higher income regions, as middle class jobs continue to be displaced.

  • Universal Basic Income is an innovation policy: it recaptures  our risk tolerance:  unlocking the opportunity for everyone to take bigger risks, think long term, and create.
  • A Universal Basic Income defends equality of opportunity & self-reliance in a world where technological job displacement is reducing incomes for many.
  • A Universal Basic Income guarantees there is no longer a “working poor” ensuring that ongoing technological innovation is directed at preserving and expanding a middle class way of life for everyone.
  • UBI is an economic need that puts markets in service to humanity, installing the plumbing into capitalism that adds resilience and robustness to the economy, ensuring everyone can fully participate to their potential.
  • Universal Basic Income abolishes poverty and reduces human suffering as well as all reducing the costs of poverty to society.

Sign up to volunteer !

When you sign up below, you will be the first to hear about our new volunteer initiative, UBI Workers. In the coming days, you will be invited to join select group of activists who will change the conversation around basic income in Canada.

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Our Friends

Our Mission

To shift the conversation about basic income to recognize it as an economic need and economic opportunity, with the goal of seeing UBI implemented in Canada.

Our Vision

We can realize the compassionate potential of capitalism to end poverty, reduce violence, and secure our personal freedoms.

Our Why

We want a Canada where everyone can pursue their potential and not be held back by basic material constraints or unsafe environments.

Close
Floyd Marinescu
Founder
CEO, C4 Media

Floyd is the Executive Director of UBI Works and the CEO and co-founder of C4Media which provides software development news and learning events serving 1.2M online on InfoQ.com, and 8000 attendees annually via QCon conferences in SF, NY, London, Beijing, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo. Floyd is an angel investor in over a dozen startups, and has built teams and businesses in the US, Canada, China, Brazil, Europe. Floyd is a CEO advocate for universal basic income and together with Paul Vallee CEO of Pythian, organized 120 Canadian CEOs to endorse basic income in Canada in Oct 2018.

Floyd Marinescu

Founder
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Ben Earl
General Manager
Social Policy Expert

Ben is the General Manager of UBI Works, supporting the day-to-day operations of the organizations projects and activities. He has over 15 years of experience in the development and management of non-profit organizations. In addition to this work, he has led projects in the areas of social and economic policy analysis, community action research, and community service planning. His current work is focused on responses to the changing nature of the economy and the future of work. In addition to his role at UBI Works, Ben provides coordinating support to the Basic Income Canada Network and leads Alinea Community Development, a consulting practice that supports social innovation in the charitable and nonprofit sectors.

Ben Earl

General Manager
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Jessie Golem
Writer & Researcher
Humans Of Basic Income

Jessie Golem is a Writer and Researcher for UBI Works, researching Basic Income pilots that have taken place or are taking place, and communicating the results of these findings in a way that is accessible. As well as being a writer, Jessie is a professional photographer, and in 2018, she used her skills in photography to produce a photo series called Humans of Basic Income that amplifies the stories of the recipients of the prematurely cancelled Basic Income Pilot Project in Ontario. Her photos have been featured on CBC, The Huffington Post, the Toronto Star, the BBC, and Kyoto News in Japan. Jessie also is a regular contributor for the Huffington Post.

Jessie Golem

Writer & Researcher
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Paul Vallee
Advisor
CEO, Pythian

Paul co-founded Pythian in 1997 and became CEO of the Company in 2005. His passion and foresight for using data and technology to drive business success has helped Pythian become a high-growth global company with over 400 employees and offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Paul is a strong proponent of technical excellence as well as diversity in the workplace. Prior to founding Pythian, Paul worked as a data scientist and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Information Systems from the University of Ottawa. He was acknowledged as “Top 40 under 40” in 2011 by the Ottawa Business Journal in recognition of Pythian’s growth to that time.

Paul Vallee

Advisor
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Liam Wilkinson
Public Relations
UBI Works

Liam Wilkinson is the Public Relations Strategist for UBI Works. Having worked extensively in the private and non-for-profit sectors, he crafts narratives that highlight economic as well as social justice case for basic income in Canada. He serves as the Managing Editor for the group, collaborating with other storytellers to envision a more just and prosperous future.

Liam Wilkinson

Public Relations
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Ken Yang
Content Manager
UBI Works

Ken is the Content Manager of UBI Works, overseeing content production and narrative development for the organization’s various target audiences.  Ken previously worked in corporate governance research at a top Canadian law firm, in social cognition research at the University of Toronto, managed the commercialization of early-stage technology from the university, and co-founded a California-based political organization focused on democratic reform and universal basic income. Ken holds a JD/MBA from the University of Toronto.

Ken Yang

Content Manager
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Philippe Chabot
Artist & Researcher
Humans vs. Machine

Philippe is a UBI adviser, researcher & artist. He keeps an eye out on related UBI news going on around the world & Canada, especially on the technology side. He manages & creates content for these social media accounts( BasicIncomeIMG | BasicIncomeQuotes | HumanVSMachine ) to promote the idea of UBI and help push it towards reality.

Philippe Chabot

Artist & Researcher
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Lisa Osborne
Scrum Master
UBI Works

Lisa Osborne

Scrum Master
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Richard Pereira
Economist
Financing Basic Income

Richard Pereira is an advisor to UBI Works. He is an economist and researcher whose primary interests are labour studies, ecological economics and co-operative economics. His research has been recognized by the Progressive Economics Forum (PEF – www.progressive-economics.ca), with the 2010 National Essay prize (MA/PhD category). He has helped develop the Canadian chapter of Basic Income Earth Network. Richard’s work increasingly explores the changing nature of the commons, our social commonwealth and ethical approaches to its preservation and sustainable universal distribution. He is the author of Financing Basic Income: Addressing the cost objection (Palgrave 2017).

Richard Pereira

Economist

Backers & Believers

Andrew Yang, US Presidential Candidate, Venture for America Founder

James Tonn, Exponential Ventures Founder, formerly CEO of Podium Publishing

Alon Ozery, CEO of Ozery Bakery, We make natural pitas, flatbreads and alternative buns sold in North America.

Giovanni Marsico, Creator & CEO ArchAngel Summit, 1000+ attendee conference of visionary leaders and entrepreneurs

James Wallace, Exponential Ventures Co-Founder, Former CEO Tribe OS, Digital Advertising Platform

Steve Hulford, CEO Underknown, Creator of WhatIF, INSH, video channels: 1.1B watched minutes

Steve Dyck, President of Guelph Solar, Clean Energy for your Home and Business.

Phil Carvaglio, Co-Founder of Precision Nutrition, Home of the World’s Top Nutrition Coaches.

Sunny Verma, CEO & Founder Tutor Bright, Tutoring Service That Gives Your Child An Academic & Mentorship Plan

Peter Cameron, Acting Executive Director Ontario Co-operative Association

Michael Schwanzer, CEO & Founder of Zeitdice

Robin Boadway, Professor of Economics at Queen’s University

Paul Vallee, CEO of Pythian, Technology Services Company specializing in AI & Cloud Infrastructure

Barbara Boraks,  Executive Director, Christian Jewish Dialogue of TorontoSteering Committee member

Mike Perry, Lawyer, Executive Director, City of Kawartha Lakes Family Health Team

Rob Rainer, Councilor, Tay Valley Township

Mike Brcic,  CEO Sacred Rides, “#1 Mountain Bike Tour Company on Earth” – National Geographic Adventure

Aaron Lowell, CEO Cannex, Pricing Information for Annuity and Bank Products Across North America

Sol Orwell, CEO Examine, Nutrition and Supplement Information Based on Science

Yafa Sakkejha, CEO Beneplan, Chief Executive Officer of Beneplan, Insurance

Steven Dyck, President Guelphsolar, Green Party of Canada MP Candidate

Support Us

Our Mission

To shift the conversation about basic income to recognize it as an economic need and economic opportunity, with the goal of seeing UBI implemented in Canada.

Our Why

We want a Canada where everyone can pursue their potential and not be held back by basic material constraints or unsafe environments.

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