Canada trials a basic income for unemployed workers
Canada is testing a basic income policy for unemployed workers to see it’s impact over the low income groups. According to this new policy, more than 4,000 citizens of the Canadian province of Ontario will receive a monthly allowance from the government and the government will monitor the affect of the allowance over the health and well being of the people. The new allowance will allow the people to be more productive and have a positive attitude towards the society.
Canada is following the footsteps of a number of other countries who have started the same policy to see it’s impact over the productivity of the region. Residents of a small province are provided with a monthly allowance regardless of their state of employment to see how it affects their productivity and well being.
Although it’s too early to access the results of this scheme, residents of Ontario are already very happy and believe that this allowance will make a huge difference to their lifestyle. Tim Button, a resident of Ontario, said,”The monthly payments are making a huge difference to my life.It takes me out of depression. I feel more sociable.” Tim worked as a security guard before having to quit after a fall from a roof left him unable to work. The basic allowance has boosted his income by almost 60 percent and has allowed him to buy a ticket to his hometown to visit his family and friends on Christmas. He is also able to afford a healthier lifestyle and feed his belly three times a day.
Under this scheme, unemployed people and low income groups in Ontario will receive an annual allowance of $17,000 CAD, whereas couples will receive an annual allowance of $24,000 CAD. As well as the basic income, recipients are allowed to keep half of whatever they earn at work, so there is an incentive to go out and find employment.
Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne, said that that one of the main driving forces behind introducing a basic income was the introduction of machines and robots into the workplace Wynne believes this boost in tech has displaced workers and left it so there aren’t enough jobs to go around. She told CNBC, “I see it on a daily basis. I go into a factory and the floor plant manager can tell me where there were 20 people and there is one machine. We need to understand what it might look like if there is, in fact, the labour disruption that some economists are predicting.”
getting people to sign up for this scheme has been a bit of a pickle for the government because many people were reluctant to sign up for this scheme as they believed that the government had some interior motive and they might be left penniless after the scheme is over. If this test run is successful, other provinces will soon follow the same in Canada with the policy and will greatly influence the lives of people during the ongoing recession and unavailability of quality jobs.
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