BC Basic Income Panel Final Report

David A. Green, UBC

Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFU
Lindsay M. Tedds, University of Calgary
Daniel Perrin, Perrin, Thorau & Associates Ltd.

March, 2021

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Roadmap

Based on chapters in the BC Basic Income Panel Final Report

bcbasicincomepanel.ca
Setting the stage:

Trends in poverty
Trends in the labour market

The complexity of the current support system and its theoretical

benefits

Barriers - the reality of access

Does this mean a basic income is inevitable/necessary?

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Poverty Rates

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Poverty Rates by Family Type

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Trends in Types of Unstable Employment

Figure 3: Measures of Unstable Employment

Females, Canada, 1997 - 2019
0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
1997 2002 2007 2012 2017 2022

Self Empl Contract Parttime Tenure le 1 yr

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Trends in Labour Share

Figure 8: Canada: Unadjusted Labour Share

1961Q1 - 2020Q1

0.59

0.57

0.55
Labour Share

0.53

0.51

0.49

0.47

0.45
1961 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Year

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Unionisation Rates, BC

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Recap

Poverty is declining but remains high for some groups: single,

working-age adults without children and lone parents

The end of work is not nigh

Up to the start of the pandemic, self-employment and other

precarious work is at troubling high levels but not rising

The problematic trends relate to declines in unionisation and

fissuring of work arrangements

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Complexity: Income and Support Programs in B.C.

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Programs in B.C.: Who Provides What?

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Cash Transfers in B.C. for non-Disability Assistance
Recipients

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Cash Transfers in B.C. for Disability Assistance
Recipients

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Barriers: IA Trends, B.C.

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
EI Beneficiaries to Unemployment Ratio, (Gray and
Busby(2016))

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Barriers

The drops in IA receipt reflect barriers that were erected in the

mid-1990’s and 2002 reforms:

5 week job search requirement before accessing benefits

closure of offices

move to on-line applications

reduction in the age of youngest child at which a person was

expected to work from 12 years old to 3 years old

There are also issues of access with tax provided benefits:

14% of Canadians do not file taxes in a year; about 4% are not
know to the tax system at all

Substantial issues with responsiveness in the current system.

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Number of IA Offices, B.C. (Hicks(2020)

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Summary

A main group of concern is single, working age, childless adults

They (and others) face two problems:

1 Rising fissured work and high levels of precarious work (though,
not the end of work or a rise in self-employment and contract
work)
2 The system they face is complex and includes substantial barriers
to access what they are, in principle, entitled to

The complexity arises for a reason and we need solutions that

deal with this realistically

David A. Green, UBC Jonathan Rhys Kesselman, SFUThe

Lindsay
Current
M.State
Tedds,
of Support
University
Systems
of Calgary
in Canada:
Daniel
thePer
Un
Would a universal basic income address
gaps in Canada’s social safety net?

Garima Talwar Kapoor

Director of Policy and Research, Maytree
May 4, 2021
Overview
• Reflections on Lindsay’s and David’s presentation
• What do we mean by a modern social safety net?
• Identifying core issues in our social safety net.
• What do proponents for a universal basic income look for? How
do their concerns address the gaps in the social safety net?
• Towards a strong, modern, social safety net.

2
Reflections on Lindsay and David’s
Presentation
• Complex system of income supports and social services
• Significant gaps for working-age adults
• Labour market realities marked by unstable and unsecure work
• Need better labour protections and legislation, public services,
and stronger income supports
• Major gap in income supports system for working-age adults living in
poverty

3
What do we need for a modern
social safety net?
• What are the principles that underpin a social safety net?
• Fundamentally, everyone in Canada has the human right to an adequate
standard of living
• Equity
• Adequacy
• Dignity
• To achieve this, we need a social safety net that is made up of
many strong threads. Not a single thread.

4
Single, working-age poverty in
Canada
Proportion of single, working-age adults living below the poverty line
(Market Basket Measure, 2018 base), Canada | 2015 - 2019
45

40
Proportion of households below MBM

35

30
All persons
25
Persons 18 to 64 years
20 Persons 18 to 64 in economic families
15 Persons 18 to 64 not in an economic family

10

0
 2015  2016  2017  2018  2019

1. Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0135-01 (formerly CANSIM 206-0041).

5
Single “welfare” incomes in select
jurisdictions
Single person considered employable
Jurisdiction Annual welfare income As % of MBM As % of LIM
Alberta $9, 377 38 38
British Columbia $9, 512 38 39
Manitoba $9, 639 43 39
Nova Scotia $7, 442 32 30
Ontario $9, 773 40 40
Quebec $9, 605 47 39

2. Maytree. Welfare Incomes in Canada. Available at: https://maytree.com/welfare-in-canada/

6
Single “welfare” incomes compared
to average rents in Ontario
Monthly Welfare Incomes and Average Bachelor/1-Bedroom Rents | 1990 - 2019, Ontario
1600 1600
Monthly welfare incomes ($), 2019 constant

1400 1400

Average monthly rents ($)

1200 1200

1000 1000

800 800
dollars

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0

Monthly Welfare Incomes for Single, Employable Bachelor 1 Bedroom

3. CMHC Market Rental Survey. Available at: https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-

pimh/en/TableMapChart/Table?TableId=2.2.11&GeographyId=2270&GeographyTypeId=3&DisplayAs=Table&GeograghyName=Toronto
4. Internal Maytree calculations from Welfare in Canada. Available at: https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip- 7
pimh/en/TableMapChart/Table?TableId=2.2.11&GeographyId=2270&GeographyTypeId=3&DisplayAs=Table&GeograghyName=Toronto
What do we get, and what do we
risk, with a universal basic income?
• Gain: simple, “adequate”, easy to understand

• Risk:
• What’s replaced/eliminated?
• Does it make sense if a basic income creates inequitable outcomes?
• Would a basic income really be adequate?
• What’s the primary goal? Poverty reduction or income stability? Need to
prioritize.

8
Towards a strong, modern social
safety net
• We need a system of supports—be clear about the principles that
underpin a social safety net, and work towards them
Better income supports, targeted by need

Better work

Better public services

9
Towards a strong, modern social
safety net

Better income supports, targeted by need

• Working-age refundable tax credit

• Refundable tax credit for people with disabilities

10
Towards a strong, modern social
safety net

Better work

• Labour protections, enhanced minimum wage, enable

unionization, health and retirement benefits (either through
work, or portable benefits)

11
Towards a strong, modern social
safety net
Better public services
• Enhanced and improved: social assistance, housing (e.g., new
units and rent supports, rent control), Employment Insurance,
Canada Social Transfer
• Introduce: Pharmacare, early learning and childcare

12
Thank you!

E: gtalwarkapoor@maytree.com
@garimatk

13