Pioneering a program

The concept behind the pilot was laid out in a paper written by Hugh Segal, former senator and special advisor to Ontario. For Segal, UBI presents a better alternative to a welfare system he describes as “seriously demeaning.”

During the three-year test program experts would, “gather quantitative and qualitative data through access to administrative records, questionnaires and interviews, making aggregate data/preliminary results available broadly and transparently,” says Segal. He believes that supplemental income should be set at $1,320 a month ($1,820 for people with disabilities) for it to be effective. “The objective behind this endeavor should be to generate an evidence-base for policy development, without bias or pre-determined conclusion,” he adds.

Poverty and automation

Though not the first, Segal believes that Canada’s program can add to the growing body of research about UBI. “The opportunity to learn from and engage with these other initiatives should not be overlooked, nor should approaches being tested elsewhere be necessarily re-tested here,” Segal writes. As mentioned, Finland was the first to have successfully tested UBI.

UBI programs are being developed in Utricht in the Netherlands, Kenya, and in India. There have also been unsuccessful attempts, like in Switzerland, where people voted against a UBI program last June.