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Below is an open letter signed by 167 Canadian health professionals to PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Ministerof Finance Bill Morneau, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu calling for a BasicIncome.
After reading this letter, please use the form below the letter to email it toTrudeau, Freeland, Morneau, and Hajdu, as well as your Member ofParliament, in just a few easy clicks.
May 19, 2020
Dear Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Morneau, and Minister Hajdu:
Subject: Health professionals support implementation of Basic Income
It has been said many times—we are living in an unprecedented moment in history.The COVID19 pandemic has brought untold challenges to Canada and to theworld. However, the pandemic has also shone a spotlight on the intransigent socialand economic inequities, namely poverty, that existed long before the currentcrisis, as well as the deep fissures in Canada’s social safety net which has beenunable to redress poverty.
We write to you as a group of health professional practitioners and scholars whoknow all too well the toll that poverty has on the health and wellbeing ofCanadians. We see the effects of poverty in our clinics, in our schools, in ourcommunities, and in our research. The World Health Organization has calledpoverty “the single largest determinant of health,” and research that illuminatesthe consequences for human health of the material and social deprivation causedby poverty abounds. Shortened life expectancy, chronic diseases, infant mortality,addictions, and a myriad of other physical and mental health impairments are allsimilarly distributed across a wealth-health gradient with those among the lowestincome quintiles getting sick and dying years before higher earning Canadians. Forthese reasons, several health profession associations have endorsed BasicIncome, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Public HealthAssociation, and the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada. We are deeply concerned about how we act now as a country to redress the long-standing income and health inequities that have so gravely impaired the well being and human potential of our fellow citizens.
Action today to redress social and economic inequities, and the consequent poor health outcomes that unfairly burden too many Canadians, as we look to a post-COVID19 future, requires a strengthened social safety net that must include aBasic Income. To be clear, we call for the implementation of a Basic Income, not asa replacement to other necessary components of the social safety net, such as affordable and accessible housing, universal health care, and other social services, which must also be improved. Moreover, the implementation of a BasicIncome must not be undertaken simply as a cost-savings measure. Rather, implementing a Basic Income must be undertaken with the intent of creating an effective, but also compassionate, health-affirming social safety net for all Canadians.
A question often asked is, can we afford a Basic Income? The evidence says, yes.A recently published report by Basic Income Canada Network clearly demonstrates that through progressive tax reform, Canada can afford to implement a Basic Income. What is more, research shows that beyond being a compassionate social policy that acknowledges the dignity of Canadians, BasicIncome is a health policy that just makes sense. Basic Income has been shown to reduce health care costs, including an 8.5% reduction in hospitalizations. As Dr.Danielle Martin has so pointedly said, “If we discovered a drug that reduced hospitalizations by 8.5%, we’d put it in the water.” Ultimately, we cannot afford to ignore the evidence that Basic Income is an effective poverty reduction measure that will improve the lives of Canadians, and thereby, improve the vitality of communities across the country.
We compliment all levels of government and political parties on their hard work that has steered Canada through the unprecedented challenges and uncertainty that COVID19 has unfortunately brought to the doorsteps of Canadian households, communities, and businesses small and large. The Canada Emergency ResponseBenefit (CERB) has proven to be vital to keeping many Canadians from slipping into poverty. However, prior to the pandemic, many Canadians were already living on the brink of, or in poverty, and it is with this in mind that we urge you to work toward restructuring the CERB as a long-term solution to poverty and its consequent social and health inequities.
We echo the Canadian Council of Young Feminists - Senator McPhedran's YouthAdvisory, and Basic Income Canada Youth Network, the Anglican and LutheranBishops, and Canadian Senators that have called upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to expand the entitlements available to Canadians in need of a Basic Income.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Brady
Registered Dietitian
Assistant Professor
Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS
Co-signed by 166 other Canadian health professionals who support basic income.
On March 16, 2020, UBI Works launched a petition calling for an Emergency UBI in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The petition garnered over 30,000signatures across all 338 federal ridings, with each signer emailing their Member of Parliament to call for a UBI.
The Government of Canada responded by announcingthe Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), ashort-term basic income for Canadians who lostincome due to COVID-19, in addition to a one-time GSTcredit of $400 per individual ($600 per couple) for low-and moderate-income Canadians, as well as a $300boost to the Canada Child Benefit basic income.
This pandemic showed us that Canadians need aUniversal Basic Income.
We are aware that these measures, while they help many Canadians, still leave many others out. From day one, the CERB left out more than 850,000Canadians, 1/3 of the unemployed, who had no income support from either EI or the CERB. The government expanded the eligibility criteria after weeks of constant pressure from Canadians to move towards a universal basic income. This pandemic has shown us that Canadians are not resilient enough in a time of crisis. Many of us who lost work from this crisis may find ourselves not hired back, or going back to lower paying work. An estimated 15% of the over 15 million workingCanadians—more than 2 million Canadians in total—will soon find themselves without work. Yet, research shows that 42% of the Canadian workforce is at high risk of being automated away—using existing technology—over the next 10-20 years. If we already had a universal basic income, noCanadian would have fallen through the cracks during this crisis. Millions of Canadians would not have needed to wait weeks, perhaps months, before getting the help they needed.
Join our mailing list and stay up-to-date on how we are working to make Universal BasicIncome a reality in Canada.
A world where everyone can pursue their potential and not be held back by basic material constraints or unsafe environments. Realize the compassionate potential of capitalism to end poverty, reduce violence, and secure our personal freedoms.
