Dear Michael Barrett MP Leeds Grenville and the Thousand Islands

I am writing as a constituent in your riding to urge you to actively support the adoption of a national basic income program. I receive you fliers in my mailbox, and they go into the trash as I am never convinced that Conservatives actually care about the real lives of real people especially the poor.

I am encouraged by the way parliamentarians have been able to cooperate to bring in emergency income support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this virus did not create the problems it has only magnified what already existed. Canada’s emergency measures must transition into a basic income to recover and rebuild a better, new normal. In the months of CERB and CRB I have seen people in your riding able to pay off their overdue property taxes for the first time in years, make upgrades to their rural homes to make them more efficient for heating, buy a laptop for a student entering college, make payments on credit cards and generally spend this money locally. They spend this money with dignity knowing they are not being judged for their choices and feeling like they can finally make ends meet. Imagine the possibilities if this basic income became a guarantee – people could go back to school, try to start their own business, help their neighbours and afford decent housing.

We need to build it now. We can’t wait. The old normal is gone, this virus is still with us and more crises are brewing. No one in this country should bear the anxiety of ruinous income insecurity, no one should live in poverty and certainly no one should suffer the degradation of social assistance. We cannot keep paying the costs of steep inequality. Federal leadership matters, and your action matters to the lives and livelihoods of the people you have committed to serve.

The many reasons for a basic income are reflected in the breadth of support for it. The call is coming from public health officers and tech entrepreneurs to Indigenous leaders, dozens of Senators, major faith and youth organizations, and those working for gender equality, racial justice, food security, a more resilient economy, the environment, a stronger democracy, and more.

A number of basic income proposals have been made and they may go by different names. The details vary but what most have in common is that they build on the income security programs that Canada already has in place for seniors and families with children. That means they are based on experience and evidence, not myth, prejudice or misinformation. They work in synergy with public services to mutual benefit and they ensure that as people are able to gain other income, the benefits reduce gradually so that security is maintained when and as people are able to begin their adult lives, improve their circumstances or overcome a setback. The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) has recommended in a Brief to House of Commons and Senate Committees that the immediate priority must be on the 18-64 year age group as it has the least security now.

There are provincial, territorial and local basic income organizations across the country, who work along with BICN, and individual experts who have worked on these issues for many years, all working in cooperation with other academic and civil society partners as well. I encourage you to use their resources and to work with them.

Please accept my best wishes for you and your colleagues and my hope that you will be part of the building of a happier, healthier, more secure Canada for everyone.

Sincerely,
Christina Salavantis
584 Sand Bay Road
Lansdowne

Basic Income Template letter to Members of Parliament

NB: The main content can be adapted to send to other people inside and outside government, including the Prime Minister and members of Cabinet. We encourage you to personalize the letter, especially if you know your MP.

Dear (Member of Parliament)

I am writing as (a constituent in your riding and/or as a concerned Canadian or other personal or professional role you may have) to urge you to actively support the adoption of a national basic income.

I am encouraged by the way parliamentarians have been able to cooperate to bring in emergency income support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this virus did not create the problems it has magnified; it has raised the stakes for more people. Canada’s emergency measures must transition into a basic income to recover and rebuild a better, new normal.

We need to build it now. We can’t wait. The old normal is gone, this virus is still with us and more crises are brewing. No one in this country should bear the anxiety of ruinous income insecurity, no one should live in poverty and certainly no one should suffer the degradation of social assistance. We cannot keep paying the costs of steep inequality. Federal leadership matters, and your action matters to the lives and livelihoods of the people you have committed to serve.

The many reasons for a basic income are reflected in the breadth of support for it. The call is coming from public health officers and tech entrepreneurs to Indigenous leaders, dozens of Senators, major faith and youth organizations, and those working for gender equality, racial justice, food security, a more resilient economy, the environment, a stronger democracy, and more.

A number of basic income proposals have been made and they may go by different names. The details vary but what most have in common is that they build on the income security programs that Canada already has in place for seniors and families with children. That means they are based on experience and evidence, not myth, prejudice or misinformation. They work in synergy with public services to mutual benefit and they ensure that as people are able to gain other income, the benefits reduce gradually so that security is maintained when and as people are able to begin their adult lives, improve their circumstances or overcome a setback. The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) has recommended in a Brief to House of Commons and Senate Committees that the immediate priority must be on the 18-64 year age group as it has the least security now.

There are provincial, territorial and local basic income organizations across the country, who work along with BICN, and individual experts who have worked on these issues for many years, all working in cooperation with other academic and civil society partners as well. I encourage you to use their resources and to work with them.

Please accept my best wishes for you and your colleagues and my hope that you will be part of the building of a happier, healthier, more secure Canada for everyone.

Sincerely, Susan Kendall

Apt. 3, 8 Scott Street
Kingston, ON K7L 1L5

June 19, 2020

Dear Mark Gerretsen, MP Kingston & the Islands,

I am aware from interviews and news reports that you already support a basic income, thank you. But I am writing today as your constituent to urge you to encourage your colleagues on Parliament Hill to support the adoption of a national basic income as well.

I am encouraged by the fact that governments have stepped up to the challenge of COVID-19 and its consequences in dramatic and surprising ways to take an essential role in enabling Canadians to adhere to public health directives and survive during the global pandemic. Multiple policies which mere months ago had been deemed impossible by politicians and economists alike have been put into to place in only a matter of week including numerous financial aid packages, a moratorium on tenant evictions, deferred mortgage payments, free inter-city public transit, free parking, free hotel rooms for the homeless, and the early release of non-violent inmates from prison.

Your government has poured more than a billion dollars into research grants to study the virus, make medicines, and discover a vaccine, along with additional millions to purchase Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for front-line healthcare workers. To cushion workers and businesses from the economic shocks of COVID-19, it has created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) which with the click of a computer mouse has put $2,000 a month into the pockets of more than eight million eligible Canadians; the Wage Subsidy and Canada Emergency Rent Assistance Program for business owners; salary top-ups for low-income essential workers; an increased Canada Child Benefit; the Canada Emergency Student Benefit; additional funding for indigenous infrastructure and business; money to arts, culture and sports organizations; funds for farmers to house migrant workers during the necessary 14 days of quarantine; millions for fisheries; $1.7 billion to the fossil fuel industry to hire 10,000 workers to clean up abandoned oil wells and restore farmland, and more. Nearly every day, Prime Minister Trudeau has appeared outside his home at Rideau Cottage to tweak and announce new measures to cover the gaps of yesterday’s aid packages. While it’s costing hundreds of billions of dollars, the measures are deemed necessary for the well-being of Canadians in this time of crisis. Austerity, it turns out, as journalist Gwynne Dyer put it, had been an ideological choice, not an economic necessity.

Unfortunately, protection isn’t being applied equitably across the board — sometimes because of split federal/provincial responsibilities — and some Canadians are still falling through the cracks. The vast majority of deaths from COVID-19 are seniors residing in long-term care homes. Grocery store clerks are being hailed heroes along with front-line healthcare workers but many go to work without PPE or pandemic pay. Expectant mothers who have exhausted Employment Insurance aren’t eligible for CERB. Businesses are receiving rent relief but residential tenants are not. Students are getting some assistance but not as much as workers who have lost their jobs . Migrant workers remain without permanent resident status and outside the labour force. While governments are deploying military personnel and recalling retired medical workers to the front lines, fully-trained foreign doctors remain excluded. Not able to claim CERB, social assistance recipients continue to struggle far below the poverty line and the illnesses their chronic poverty have caused put them at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. In the general population, after many weeks of restrictions and no idea of how long this is going to last, tempers are fraying and anxiety is palpable. Liquor sales are up and so is domestic violence. There’s increased surveillance in the name of public safety. Too many are dying, and dying alone.

Government’s extensive financial aid has led to unprecedented discussion about implementing a basic income. Why continue to patch together myriad programs that still exclude some Canadians when a single measure could protect everyone from falling into poverty? As I’m sure you’re aware, fifty members of the Senate of Canada sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and the Minister of Finance on April 21st, calling on them to restructure the CERB to implement a “minimum basic income”. The call is also coming from public health officers and tech entrepreneurs, Indigenous leaders, major faith and youth organizations, those working for gender equality, racial justice, food security, a more resilient economy, the environment, a stronger democracy, and more.

Every global pandemic has been unique. And in the aftermath of widespread suffering and loss, positive change has come. Likewise with COVID-!9, the real test will come once the crisis is over. Daily, Canada’s prime minister acknowledges that there is still much to do and he is committed to doing a better job. Many expect no less than transformative change. Instead of a world order characterized by ‘capital’, ‘profit’ and ‘consumerism’, there’s an opportunity to shift towards ‘cooperation’, ‘equity’ and ‘sustainability’. Will we take the lessons learned during COVID-19 and apply them to a new way of living? Or will we return to ‘business as usual’, where profit takes precedence over people, and we continue to shut out and discriminate against our poorest and most vulnerable citizens?

We need to implement basic income now. We can’t wait. The old normal is gone, this virus is still with us, and more crises are brewing. No one in this country should bear the anxiety of ruinous income insecurity, no one should live in poverty and certainly no one should suffer the degradation of social assistance. We cannot keep paying the costs of steep inequality. Federal leadership matters, and your action matters to the lives and livelihoods of the people you have committed to serve.

A number of basic income proposals have been made, and they may go by different names. The details vary but what most have in common is that they build on the income security programs that Canada already has in place for seniors and families with children. That means they are based on experience and evidence, not myth, prejudice or misinformation. They work in synergy with public services to mutual benefit and they ensure that as people are able to gain other income, the benefits reduce gradually so that security is maintained when and as people are able to begin their adult lives, improve their circumstances or overcome a setback. The Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) has recommended in a Brief to House of Commons and Senate Committees that the immediate priority must be on the 18-64 year age group as it has the least security now.

There are provincial, territorial and local basic income organizations across the country, who work along with BICN, and individual experts who have worked on these issues for many years, all working in cooperation with other academic and civil society partners as well. I encourage you to use their resources and to work with them.

Please accept my best wishes for you and your colleagues and my hope that you will be part of building a happier, healthier, more secure Canada for everyone.

Sincerely,
Tara Kainer

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