At the November 19th meeting, the local Board of Health wrote a letter urging the federal and provincial governments to launch a joint investigation into a Basic Income Guarantee. This would be a minimum guaranteed annual income, regardless of work status. It would also ensure that Canadians have enough income to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, heat and clothing, and live with dignity.
Pilot programs in Canada and other countries suggest that a Basic Income Guarantee has many positive effects including: improved physical and mental health for adults and children; increased high school graduation rates; increased employment in single-parent households; reduction in hospitalizations and crime and an increase in business start-ups. For more information about the Basic Income Guarantee, visit http://www.basicincomecanada.org/