Ottawa ran an unprecedented $354 billion budget deficit in 2020/21.
Guaranteed Annual Income
Bill C-273 calls on the federal finance minister to assess a potential guaranteed annual income in Canada.
All the disposable income of Canada’s top earners—those earning $250,000 or more annually—would fund only 25 per cent of the GAI.
The fundamental idea is for government to ensure a minimum annual income for all Canadians.
First, it has to be a replacement to existing programs and not an add-on.
A GAI would likely require large-scale lay-offs of bureaucrats to achieve substantial administrative savings—a move that would obviously face strong internal political opposition.
The old idea of a guaranteed annual income (GAI) recently received renewed attention thanks to Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi and Edmonton mayor Don Iveson. Both mayors hope the new provincial government is sympathetic to the idea.
An idea that would fundamentally change the way governments provide income support has received renewed attention in Canada and around the world. The idea: replace the current complex tangle of government income support programs with a single cash transfer to individuals or families.