In Canada, 1 in 7 families live in poverty and 200,000 people are homeless each year. Poverty has many adverse effects on a nation and on society as a whole, such as, worse health for impoverished people, lower education rates, higher mental illness rates, a less robust economy and severe developmental issues for children living in poverty. Additionally, services such as welfare programs and homeless shelters created to help alleviate these effects cost the Canadian government up to 84 billion dollars each year. Clearly, poverty is an enormous problem that, despite the governments efforts, continues to plague an increasing amount of Canadians. Creating a guaranteed basic income for Canadians would eradicate both homelessness and poverty. Having a basic income would mean that all Canadians - regardless of their working status - would be given a tax free income to meet their basic needs. This eliminates the need for homeless shelters, food banks and the entire welfare system, replacing it with a single office writing and delivering cheques. Currently, the most a single person with absolutely no income can receive on welfare is $570/month ($6,840/year), which is about 1/3 of the national poverty line. The amount of the basic income would differ depending on where in the country a person lives and can be implemented in a variety of ways, preferably through monthly cheques. Funds to pay for a basic income can be generated by redirecting tax money from welfare services, homelessness services and/or by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Canadians. A basic income has been tried in Canada before, in the small town of Dauphin, Manitoba from 1974-1979 while Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister. This experiment eliminated poverty in the town of 8,000 and had no negative impact on people's willingness to work. Additionally, Finland has recently announced introducing a basic income of 600 euros ($1202.68) per month to all citizens in order to combat their increasing unemployment. Furthermore, the city of Utrecht, Netherlands is planning to introduce a basic income and Switzerland will be having a referendum on the proposal in 2016. Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government have promised to combat poverty, but they plan to do this by increasing benefits for specific people, a tactic that, though helpful, has repeatedly failed at fully eradicating poverty. A basic income would end poverty once and for all in one concise benefit, and will allow Canada to set an example for the rest of the world to follow. I hope that with your help, we can show the government that Canadians want to see an end to poverty and that we will pressure the Liberals into researching basic income and devising an implementation plan that works best for Canada. For more information on the Dauphin project: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/23/mincome-in-dauphin-manitoba_n_6335682.html For more information on Finland's Basic Income: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/finland/12035946/Finland-is-considering-giving-every-citizen-800-a-month.html For more information on different ways basic income can function : http://www.basicincome.org/basic-income/
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