P.E.I. group part of coalition calling for federal parties to include basic income guarantee in platforms
'We want to hear from candidates and future elected officials what their stance is'
A new cross-Canada coalition of feminist organizations is calling on all federal parties to include a basic income guarantee in their platforms as a policy commitment.
Women's Network P.E.I. is one of the groups advocating for basic income to be a national election issue.
"P.E.I. has kind of been the hub of the basic income movement in Canada for many years," said Jillian Kilfoil, the executive director of Women's Network P.E.I.
Leveraging that energy on P.E.I. and using it to stir up momentum across the country is one of the goals of the coalition's campaign, she said.
Discussion around a basic income is nothing new on P.E.I. A detailed report released in 2023 said such a program would drop the poverty rate in the province from 10 per cent to two per cent.
The report recommends a basic income amount to 85 per cent of the official poverty line in Canada. Based on the time of the report in 2022, that would be $19,252 for a single adult or $27,227 for a family of two adults.
'Exactly why we need basic income'
The new coalition is passing out door hangers in advance of the April 28 federal election to encourage voters to have conversations about basic income guarantee with candidates.
"We want to hear from candidates and future elected officials what their stance is," Kilfoil said.
"What is their belief related to basic income? And how would they use their future role to be able to leverage some action related to the implementation of basic income?"
Tariffs and international relations have taken up a lot of bandwidth throughout this election cycle, said Kilfoil, but basic income should also be an important part of the conversation.
"What's happening in the U.S. and what's happening with the trade wars is exactly why we need basic income," she said.
"If something happens where people need more income to be able to weather a storm like tariffs, you already have that in place."
The extent to which tariffs and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have been dominating the political conversation doesn't mean Canadians and Islanders don't care about basic income, Kilfoil said. Rather, the "acute situation south of the border" has caused some people to put other important issues on the backburner.
Persistent myths
When it comes to arguments against implementing basic income, Kilfoil said there are some common misconceptions.
"The two most persistent myths around basic income is that it costs a lot and people won't have an incentive to work."
If you knew you had a guaranteed income, what kind of risk would you take to open a new business that you may not take without that guarantee?— Jillian Kilfoil
On the issue of cost, she said there will be expenses regardless.
"Either we can pay it up front by trying to prevent some of these costly situations that burden our health-care system and other systems, or we can pay for it later," she said, adding that paying for it later is more expensive.
Kilfoil said a more progressive tax on the ultra-wealthy would help redistribute resources to those who are struggling.
When it comes to the workforce, Kilfoil said people are still very motivated to work.
"The reality is that we have people working 40 hours a week or more, and they still can't cover their basic needs," she said. "Something isn't working."
A basic income guarantee could also spur entrepreneurship and small business growth.
"If you knew you had a guaranteed income, what kind of risk would you take to open a new business that you may not take without that guarantee?" she said.
"If we look at taxing people who have way too much already [and] redistribute that to people who don't have enough... then we're not going to see any impacts on the workforce overall."
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With files from CBC News: Compass