"Whereas every person should have access to a livable basic income…

The Minister must develop a national framework for the implementation of a guaranteed livable basic income program throughout Canada”

On December 16, 2021 Senator Kim Pate and Member of Parliament Leah Gazan introduced Bills S-233 and C-223, which if passed, would establish the first national framework for an unconditional Guaranteed Livable Basic Income for all persons over 17 across Canada. Both bills include the same title and text and mark the first ever, coordinated effort from within the House of Commons and the Senate for Basic Income.

Use the tools below to 1) Sign and share the petition telling our Senators to support Bill S-233 and send it to the House, and then 2) Tweet the Senate Finance Committee Chairs.

Step 2: Tweet the Senate National Finance Committee Chairs

Tell your MP to vote on Canada's Basic Income Bill
Infogram

Bills S-233 & C-223 for Unconditional Basic Income

Key Features:

“...for any person over the age of 17, including temporary workers, permanent residents and refugee claimants.”
“determine what constitutes a livable basic income for each region in Canada”
“to ensure that participation in education, training or the labour market is not required”
“does not result in a decrease in services or benefits meant to meet an individual’s exceptional needs related to health or disability.”
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What would Bills S-233 and C-223 do?

If passed, this law would require the Minister of Finance, within one year, to create a Canada-wide framework for the implementation of a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income. Simply put, this means that the federal government would need to put together the standards and plan from which it, along with the other levels of government, could create unconditional Basic Incomes in their jurisdictions.

Will there be health or other requirements on this Basic Income?

No - there is no "this Basic Income". These bills merely require the government to produce a report on a potential framework for Basic Income. The central feature of any Guaranteed Basic Income program is that it is unconditional on anything other than age, income and residency.
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How can I help make sure Bills S-233 and C-223 get passed?

Step 1: Use our tool on this page to email our Senators
Step 2: Tweet the Senate National Finance Committee Chairs‍
Step 3: Make noise on social media
Share our post on Facebook, on Twitter, and Tweet your MP. We need to call out our politicians to make sure that when the time comes, they’ll vote YES on these bills.

At the end of the day it all comes down to how MPs and Senators vote. There will be multiple steps for this Bill, and it can be rejected at any stage. Your MP is supposed to represent your voice in Parliament, so the first and most important step is to let them know you want this bill passed.

Read about what's new and what it won't do

What won't Bills S-233 and C-223 do?
These bills do not detail how the GLBI would work, precisely who would get it, or how much it would cost and be paid for. What they do require is for the government to take the first crucial step to convene all the necessary stakeholders, hash out the many complicated issues, and make an actual plan so that provinces, territories and the federal government can move forward together and create a Basic Income.

Like Bill C-273 before it, Bill C-223 is a Private Member’s Bill so it is limited in what it can force the government to do. In our system, only the government is allowed to raise taxes and spend money, so only the government is able to actually create a Basic Income.

Where can I read the text of Bills S-233 and C-223?
Read the full text of Bill S-233: National Framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income Act. Bill C-223 shares the same title and text and can be found here.
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What’s the difference between these and previous Bills and Motions?
‍Like Bill C-273 and Motion 46 before it, these bills aims to pressure, or otherwise require, the government to formally start investigating and determining how a Basic Income should work and be implemented in Canada. However, neither of these two previous legislative attempts was passed: Motion 46 was defeated and Bill C-273 was not brought to a vote before Parliament ended because of the election.

The differences between these pieces of legislation include: specifying who would qualify for a Basic Income, who must be consulted about creating these plans, and the timelines for doing so.

In our opinion, Bills S-233 and C-223 have two key new features. First, they recognize that Basic Income is not, in and of itself, a total solution to poverty and therefore require that it be complimented by national standards for health and social supports that would work alongside the program. Second, they explicitly forbid the introduction of a Basic Income causing a reduction in the services or benefits people are receiving as part of exceptional health or disability programs.

Sign the Petition

Timeline of Bills S-233 and C-223

Bills S-233 and C-223 are introduced in the House of Commons and Senate.

The bill is debated and voted on whether to bring it to committee.

The bill is sent to committee, where it may be revised and amended with the help of testimonies from experts.

The committee sends the bill back to the House of Commons / Senate where all MPs / Senators can debate it and suggest more changes.

The bill is debated one last time and then voted on. If it receives 50% + 1 vote, it's as good as passed.

The bill goes through a similar process in the Senate as in the House of Commons, but much faster. The Senate usually won't vote down a bill which MPs have passed, but may suggest changes.

The Governor General signs the bill into law!

Bill S-233 Second Reading Speeches

Sign the Petition

On Social Media

“🇨🇦's regulatory burden not only reduces our competitive advantage - it also disempowers the most vulnerable in our society. It's crucial that we study Bill #S233 in committee to find innovative ways to improve social supports in 🇨🇦". #BasicIncome #cdnpoli https://t.co/seXEihnRed pic.twitter.com/6LTk9Eou73
— Senator Colin Deacon 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@colindeacon) June 14, 2022

Today, I introduced the National Framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income Act.

Governing is about choices.

Its time to choose to put people first & ensure every person living in Canada lives with dignity, security, respect & human rights.#GLBI #C223 #Calls4Justice pic.twitter.com/KWZAMw68ny
— Leah ProudLakota (she/her) (@LeahGazan) December 16, 2021

Thrilled to echo @LeahGazan's Bill #C223 with Bill #S233 in the #SenCA. 🇨🇦 must stop abandoning millions to poverty. The health, social & financial costs are unacceptable. #GuaranteedLivableIncome would help ensure no one is left behind #BasicIncomeNow #cdnpoli #cdnmedia https://t.co/tnKn6HjSn5 pic.twitter.com/QfpcmBqS5x
— Kim Pate (@KPateontheHill) December 17, 2021

Despite the lies floating around out there, S-233 does NOT tie receipt of a hypothetical GBI to your behaviour. In fact, it does EXACTLY the opposite. Indeed, it suggests a framework where no one would have to prove that they were being a good citizen to get at GBI.
— Paula Simons (@Paulatics) March 13, 2022

A New Bill for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income, introduced this morning by @LeahGazan.

"This is a People's movement." Thank you Leah! #C223 pic.twitter.com/KaLT74scyE
— UBI Works 🇨🇦🧢⬆️ (@ubi_works) December 16, 2021

I support sending Bill #S233 to committee so we can have an informed discussion about #basicincome. Whether you support a basic income or not, there is much public interest in the idea and a growing body of research to draw on.
— Yuen Pau Woo (@yuenpauwoo) September 28, 2022

Sign the Petition

How Would Basic Income Help Canada?

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) gives us a first ever look at the economic impacts of a national Basic Income in Canada.

1. Basic Income can grow the economy and create jobs.

Basic Income could grow Canada’s economy $80 billion a year — more than Canada’s tourism and hospitality industries combined — and create nearly 600,000 jobs in 5 years.

Basic Income could grow our economy $80 billion/year.
It could concurrently generate $400 billion in additional GDP within 5 years — or up to $2 trillion in 25 years.
Basic Income could add nearly 600,000 full-time equivalent within 5 years — or over 900,000 jobs in 25 years.

2. Basic Income can be good for business.

Putting money in Canadians’ hands lets them spend it in their local economies, which could cause private capital investments to increase up to $15 billion a year — more than double all Canadian venture capital investments a year.

Basic Income could add $32 billion/year on average in gross operating surplus (GOS) to Canada's businesses within 5 years — as much as the annual profits of our 3 biggest banks combined.
GOS could grow up to $745 billion in 25 years.
Basic Income could increase private capital investments (PCI) $15 billion/year on average within 5 years.
PCI could grow up to $336 billion in 25 years.

3. Basic Income is a raise for working Canadians.

Economic activity from Basic Income would cause businesses to hire, spending up to $32 billion a year in total wages— as much as the profits of our top 3 banks.

Basic Income could grow aggregate wages 2.6% in year 5 — or $32 billion a year on average over 5 years. Aggregate wages could grow up to $621 billion in 25 years.
1.7M families earning between $10-19K from work could see their total income double (+114%).
3.3M families earning between $20-29K from work could see their total income increase +34% on average.
Canadians earning up to $109,000/year could see their disposable income either increase — or decrease no more than 1.1%
Basic Income could increase disposable income $122 billion in 1 year for the bottom 60% of Canadians by income.

4. Basic Income can be a self-sustaining investment.

Basic Income could grow the economy more than it costs in the long term, making this a sustainable investment over time. It could generate $22 billion a year in new government revenues from new economic activity— as much as all EI Premiums paid by employees and employers.

The cost of Basic Income as a percentage of GDP could shrink over time, despite covering more Canadians, since economic growth from the program will increase faster than cost.
Basic Income could generate $22 billion a year in new government revenues.
It could add $109 billion in additional government revenues within 5 years — or up to $514 billion in 25 years.
Basic income can be funded with minimal tax increases, by using debt that can be paid down with new tax revenues — while growing the economy and raising incomes of most Canadians.

5. All while ending poverty and growing the middle class.

Basic Income could grow the economy sustainably while lifting 3.2 million families out of poverty and giving a raise to most Canadians.

3.2M families lifted out of poverty — ending poverty.
129,000 single-parent families lifted out of poverty — 85% of which are female-led.
2.3M families in the lowest income bracket ($0-9K) could see their income at least triple.

Read the full report and highlights

Basic Income can grow the economy and create jobs.

Basic Income could grow Canada’s economy $80 billion a year — more than Canada’s tourism and hospitality industries combined — and create nearly 600,000 jobs in 5 years.

Basic Income could grow our economy $80 billion/year.
It could generate $400 billion in additional GDP within 5 years — or up to $2 trillion in 25 years.
Basic Income could add nearly 600,000 full-time equivalent within 5 years — or over 900,000 jobs in 25 years.

Basic Income can be a self-sustaining investment.

Basic Income could generate $22 billion a year in new government revenues — more per year all EI Premiums paid by employees and employers.

Basic Income could generate additional government revenues of $22 billion/year.
It could add $109 billion in additional government revenues within 5 years — or up to $514 billion in 25 years.
Basic income can be funded with minimal tax increases, by using debt that can be paid down with new tax revenues — while growing the economy and raising incomes of most Canadians.

Basic Income is a raise for working Canadians.

Basic Income could grow disposable income by $122 billion in 1 year for the bottom 60% of Canadians — more than the GDP of Canada’s restaurant industry.

Basic Income could increase disposable income $122 billion in 1 year for the bottom 60% of Canadians by income.
It could grow aggregate wages 2.6% by year 5 — or $32 billion/year per year over 5 years.
Basic Income could grow aggregate wages up to $621 billion, in 25 years.
Canadians earning up to $109,000/year could see their disposable income either increase — or decrease no more than 1.1%

Basic Income can be good for business.

Basic Income could grow Canadian businesses by $32 billion a year in gross operating surplus — more than the yearly profits of our 3 biggest banks combined.

Basic Income could grow Canada’s businesses by an average of $32 billion/year in gross operating surplus (GOS) within 5 years.
GOS could grow up to $745 billion in 25 years.
Basic Income could increase private capital investments (PCI) an average of $7 billion/year within 5 years — more than twice as much as the annual investments by Canadian venture capitalists.
PCI could grow up to $336 billion in 25 years.

All while ending poverty and growing the middle class.

Basic Income could grow the economy sustainably and support Canada’s businesses — all while lifting 3.2 million families out of poverty, ending poverty.

3.2M families lifted out of poverty — ending poverty.
129,000 single-parent families lifted out of poverty — 85% of which are female-led.
2.3M families in the lowest income bracket ($0-9K) could see their income at least triple.
1.7M families in 2nd-lowest income bracket ($10-19K) could see their income double.
3.3M families in the 3rd-lowest income bracket ($20-29K) — by far the largest group by population — could see their income increase +34%.

Sign the Petition

Bills S-233 & C-223for Guaranteed Livable Basic Income

Step 2: Tweet the Senate National Finance Committee Chairs

Bills S-233 & C-223 for Unconditional Basic Income

Key Features:

What would Bills S-233 and C-223 do?

Will there be health or other requirements on this Basic Income?

How can I help make sure Bills S-233 and C-223 get passed?

First Reading

Second Reading

Committee

Report

Third Reading

Senate

Royal Assent

Bill S-233 Second Reading Speeches

On Social Media

1. Basic Income can grow the economy and create jobs.

Basic Income could grow Canada’s economy $80 billion a year — more than Canada’s tourism and hospitality industries combined — and create nearly 600,000 jobs in 5 years.

2. Basic Income can be good for business.

Putting money in Canadians’ hands lets them spend it in their local economies, which could cause private capital investments to increase up to $15 billion a year — more than double all Canadian venture capital investments a year.

3. Basic Income is a raise for working Canadians.

Economic activity from Basic Income would cause businesses to hire, spending up to $32 billion a year in total wages— as much as the profits of our top 3 banks.

4. Basic Income can be a self-sustaining investment.

Basic Income could grow the economy more than it costs in the long term, making this a sustainable investment over time. It could generate $22 billion a year in new government revenues from new economic activity— as much as all EI Premiums paid by employees and employers.

5. All while ending poverty and growing the middle class.

Basic Income could grow the economy sustainably while lifting 3.2 million families out of poverty and giving a raise to most Canadians.

Basic Income can grow the economy and create jobs.

Basic Income could grow Canada’s economy $80 billion a year — more than Canada’s tourism and hospitality industries combined — and create nearly 600,000 jobs in 5 years.

Basic Income can be a self-sustaining investment.

Basic Income could generate $22 billion a year in new government revenues — more per year all EI Premiums paid by employees and employers.

Basic Income is a raise for working Canadians.

Basic Income could grow disposable income by $122 billion in 1 year for the bottom 60% of Canadians — more than the GDP of Canada’s restaurant industry.

Basic Income can be good for business.

Basic Income could grow Canadian businesses by $32 billion a year in gross operating surplus — more than the yearly profits of our 3 biggest banks combined.

All while ending poverty and growing the middle class.

Basic Income could grow the economy sustainably and support Canada’s businesses — all while lifting 3.2 million families out of poverty, ending poverty.

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Bills S-233 & C-223
for Guaranteed Livable Basic Income