Universal basic income: A made-in-Hamilton solution?

UBI would help maintain the social fabric of the country and assist many Canadians in distress

The COVID-19 plague has reset many important aspects of society, and it brings with it the prospect of continuing those changes that are beneficial. As Canadians we have an opportunity to do something very simple and powerful: we can adopt a national universal basic income (UBI) program.

In recent decades, ours has become an increasingly unequal society. Indeed, Hamilton is a case study in inequality as documented in The Hamilton Spectator Code Red series. The short-term Canada Emergency Response Benefit has been introduced to assist those in financial distress because of the current pandemic. However, an alternative, tested, longerterm remedy, the UBI, holds promise as a lasting cure for much of the expanding problem of financial distress, and as a means to reduce inequality.

A recent UBI pilot program in Ontario offers insight into the potential benefits of such a program. Hamilton was one of three sites chosen for study. A review of the first year of the program has now been published by the McMaster School of Labour Studies, the Hamilton Community

Foundation, and the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction. It documents the remarkable positive impact of the experiment on the well-being of the participants, and the corresponding potential to benefit society at large.

Consider this: in its brief year of existence, the Ontario experiment showed great promise in helping people rise from poverty. Some participants undertook advanced education, some found a stable place to live. Many who were unemployed at the start were able to find work to supplement, and only fractionally reduce, the amount received from the program. Abuse of the program was negligible. The physical and mental-health benefits were profound.

The costs of a national program are up for debate, with estimates varying by as much as a factor of two. It is even conceivable that a UBI program could pay for a significant portion of its benefits through efficiencies and by reducing the many costs associated with physical and mental illness. It would also inject much-needed cash into the broader economy as the pandemic abates.

A made-in-Hamilton solution? The concept has a long and rich history of experimentation in Canada (Gimli Manitoba for example), in Finland and elsewhere, each echoing many of the same findings. It also has recently been endorsed by figures as diverse as Evelyn Forget and Hugh Segal, Elon Musk, and Pope Francis. The government of Spain has just announced the introduction of a UBI.

There will be opportunities to change several aspects of our society for the better in the coming months. Among these, the problem of inequality cries out for simple steps toward a practical resolution. The UBI, if introduced, would help maintain the social fabric of the country and assist many Canadians in distress, now and in the economy that will follow. At the same time it holds the potential to assist in the ongoing reset of the national economy. The issue deserves serious consideration and debate.

Is the UBI a made-in-Hamilton solution? Not entirely. Is it a made-for-Hamilton solution? Absolutely!

Gary Purdy FRSC is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Engineering, McMaster University. He is a member of Democracy Probe, a Hamilton-based think tank.