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Ottawa to Draft Basic Income Plan

An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income

Summary

  • Requires the Minister of Finance to develop a national framework to deliver a guaranteed livable basic income to all people in Canada aged 17 and over, including temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants.
  • Mandates consultations with federal ministers, provinces and territories, Indigenous elders and governing bodies, and experts in basic income programs.
  • Directs the framework to define regional livable income levels, set national standards for complementary health and social supports, forbid work, education, or training requirements for eligibility, and protect exceptional health and disability benefits from being reduced.
  • Requires a report to Parliament within one year, public posting of the framework, and recurring reviews with annual effectiveness reports beginning two years after tabling.

Builder Assessment

Vote No

Overall, the bill conflicts with a prosperity and productivity-focused agenda because it directs an unconditional nationwide income guarantee without embedding pro-work design, consolidation, or fiscal guardrails. While bold, it risks higher taxes, program duplication, and weaker labour-force participation that could undermine competitiveness and government efficiency.

  • Strengths: bold national vision; aims to reduce poverty; protects exceptional health and disability supports; mandates transparency through reporting.
  • Key concerns: no requirement to replace or simplify existing programs; explicit prohibition on work or training requirements; unclear financing that could imply higher taxes and weaker work incentives; no export, investment, or productivity focus.
  • To strengthen: integrate delivery through the tax system as a negative income tax with low, predictable clawback rates so working always pays; mandate consolidation of overlapping cash benefits while safeguarding disability supports; include clear fiscal guardrails, multi-year costing, and independent evaluation tied to labour participation and productivity outcomes; use simple bilateral agreements with provinces to avoid duplication and respect jurisdiction; implement smart anti-fraud and privacy-by-design measures to protect program integrity and Canadians’ security without adding red tape.

Question Period Cards

What is the projected fiscal cost range for a guaranteed livable basic income under this framework, and will the minister commit to financing it without higher taxes on workers and small businesses by consolidating duplicative programs?

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Given that eligibility would not require participation in education, training, or the labour market, how will the framework ensure working always pays by keeping marginal effective tax rates low and avoiding disincentives to work?

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How will the minister respect provincial jurisdiction and secure provincial and Indigenous government agreements while preventing duplication and administrative bloat in social assistance delivery?

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Principles Analysis

✗

Canada should aim to be the world's most prosperous country.

An unconditional nationwide income guarantee risks higher fiscal burdens and reduced labour-force participation, which could weigh on long-run prosperity despite potential poverty reduction.

✗

Promote economic freedom, ambition, and breaking from bureaucratic inertia (reduce red tape).

Creates a new national program framework, standards, and ongoing reporting without committing to replacing or streamlining existing programs, risking duplication rather than simplification.

✗

Drive national productivity and global competitiveness.

Prohibiting any work or training requirement could weaken labour supply and productivity; the bill does not embed pro-work design or upskilling incentives.

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Grow exports of Canadian products and resources.

No direct measures affecting exports, trade access, or trade-enabling infrastructure.

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Encourage investment, innovation, and resource development.

Income security might support entrepreneurial risk-taking, but the financing approach and labour impacts are unspecified; net effect is unclear.

✗

Deliver better public services at lower cost (government efficiency).

Adds consultations and recurring reporting and does not require consolidation of existing benefits or administrative systems, implying higher administrative and program costs.

✗

Reform taxes to incentivize work, risk-taking, and innovation.

A broad GLBI would likely rely on higher taxes or steep clawbacks, which can raise marginal effective tax rates and discourage work; the bill is silent on pro-work tax design.

✓

Focus on large-scale prosperity, not incrementalism.

Pursues a sweeping system change rather than incremental adjustments, aligning with a big-bet approach to social policy.

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C-253

PartyMember of Parliament
StatusOutside the Order of Precedence
Last updatedN/A
TopicsSocial Welfare, Economics, Labor and Employment, Healthcare, Indigenous Affairs, Immigration, Social Issues
Parliament45