The Municipality of North Cowichan is calling on the federal government to provide a guaranteed basic income to all Canadians.
North Cowichan’s council voted 5-2 on the motion at its meeting on April 5 after receiving correspondence from City of Victoria Coun. Marianne Alto and City of Kamloops Coun. Dale Bass asking council to do so as part of their efforts to gather support from local governments across B.C. on the issue.
But North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring and Coun. Tek Manhas voted against it, with Siebring saying the nation had what was an essentially a guaranteed basic-income program called the Canada Emergency Response Benefit which proved to be problematic.
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The now-defunct CERB program, intended mainly for those who were not employed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were not receiving federal employment insurance or other benefits, was rolled out quickly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By the time the CERB program wrapped up, it had doled out $81.6 billion to 8.9 million recipients.
Siebring said Canada is still seeing the negative impacts of the CERB program.
“The entire business community is screaming for workers, partly because people were getting paid to do nothing,” he said.
“The unintended consequences of this are significant and I won’t support this motion.”
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Count. Kate Marsh said she hears what Siebring is saying, but surveys have indicated that one of the main reasons people were not working was because they were afraid of getting COVID-19.
“There is an example, I believe, of a city in Manitoba that did a two-year trial with a guaranteed-basic income,” she said.
“It really made a big difference in the community and it didn’t stop people from working, but what it could do is allow people working for low incomes to have enough income to have a roof over their heads and not have to sleep in their cars.”
The email from Alto and Bass said municipalities are on the front line in the struggle to ensure that all their residents can lead a life of dignity, health, and participation in the community.
The councillors said the federal government currently provides income support for families with children and for seniors age 65 and older, and what is needed is additional support for those age 18-64.
“When people have a sufficient income to pay for decent housing, nutritious food, and social participation, there is less strain on municipalities and the services they provide,” the email said.
“On Jan. 27, the City of Victoria unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities to call on the federal government to implement a guaranteed livable basic income to ensure everyone has sufficient income to meet their needs.”
The AVICC endorsed the resolution at its convention earlier this month, and forwarded it to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for consideration at its annual convention in September.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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