by Emily Leedham So you want to organize a rent strike? On this week’s Rank & File Radio, Stefan Hodges discusses tenants unions, rent strikes & responding to evictions. Alvin Finkel discusses the future of the Canadian social safety net after COVID-19. Compassion: A Global History of Social Policy by Alvin Finkelwww.macmillanihe.com/page/detail/co…=9781352003093 Tenants Rights Provincial Continue readingDemanding Compassion: Rent Strikes & Emergency Benefits
Basic Income
On this week’s edition of Rank and File Radio – Prairies Edition, host Emily Leedham speaks with two guests. First, Calgarian Nicole Montford from NationalizeBusRoutes.ca discusses the campaign and the days of action planned September 1-3 calling for nationalized intercity transit. Second, David Bush, editor at RankandFile.ca, talks about Ontario’s cancellation of the Basic Income Continue readingBasic Income and building working-class power
By the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty We are convinced that the emerging model of basic income, reflected in pilot projects and other initiatives in a number of countries and jurisdictions, is one that would intensify the neoliberal agenda. The hope that there is any realistic chance of ensuring a truly adequate, universal payment, that isn’t Continue readingThe Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income
By John Clarke Since 2010, the UK has endured a political regime that can be considered a cutting edge of the austerity agenda. Through the film, I, Daniel Blake, people around the world have become familiar with the institutionalized cruelty of the Country’s warped system of providing social benefits to those in need. To those Continue readingOntario’s Basic Income BS
The idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been championed by both progressives and conservatives. Not everyone on the left, however, is behind the idea. Is the UBI a means of redistributing wealth, attacking poverty and protecting workers from technological displacement? Or will basic income serve to advance an agenda of austerity and privatization? Continue readingWeekend Video: Debating Basic Income
By Michal Rozworski With the Ontario Liberals rolling out their basic income pilot project to much fanfare last week, it is an opportune time to dive into the debates around BI once again. 1. Political aspects of unemployment A few weeks ago I attended a debate on basic income and the left in Toronto hosted by Continue readingFour (more) arguments against real-world basic income
By Nora Loreto Recently, to fulfill their promise of ensuring that every family in Quebec will have a family doctor, Quebec Liberal Minister of Health Dr. Gaétan Barrette unveiled an online appointment booking tool. It is supposed to ensure that whenever you need a doctor, you’ll see one. To pay for this, many public walk-in Continue readingThe scheming Liberals’ Basic Income plan
By Pam Frache On April 13, about 300 people, all of them united in their desire to improve the well-being of the most vulnerable among us, took their seats in the OISE auditorium in Toronto to listen to a discussion about Basic Income (BI) and its implications for addressing poverty. What we need to keep Continue readingThe Basic Income debate
By David Bush Should labour support the demand for a Basic Income? In response to the threat of automation, the rise of neoliberal policies and the weakening of trade unions parts of the Left have come to champion BI as a policy that can save the working class. But is this the best way to Continue readingBasic Income or a reduced work week? An old labour debate
By John Clarke Up until now, the concept of Basic Income (BI) has enjoyed a greater history of being proposed than of being implemented. We may well be approaching a period, however, when this changes. The Ontario Government is holding consultations on setting up a BI pilot project. The Legislature in another Canadian Province, Prince Continue readingBasic Income: Progressive Dreams Meet Neoliberal Realities
By John Clarke The Ontario Government’s Adviser on Basic Income (BI), Hugh Segal, has released his much heralded discussion paper, “Finding a Better Way,” that sets out his proposals for a lengthy BI pilot project. If the experiment he advocates is put into effect, it will run parallel to the deliberations of a Security Reform Continue readingOntario’s austerity government sets basic income trap
By Shawn Vulliez On April 22, Rankandfile.ca published a piece by Michal Rozworski titled, “Beware of Basic Income.” His principal claim is that we should be cautious around the premise of a guaranteed income for all citizens because of the challenge such a policy might pose to existing social programs in Ontario’s low-tax, austerity driven Continue readingBeware of a Future Without Basic Income