Ottawa to Draft Basic Income Plan

Summary#

This bill orders the federal Minister of Finance to design a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI). It sets consultation rules, core design features, and reporting deadlines. It does not start payments or fund a program. It creates a plan and public reports that could guide future laws or agreements.

• Covers all persons over 17, including temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants (Bill s.3(1)).
• Requires region‑specific measures to define a “livable” income based on local costs (Bill s.3(3)(a)).
• Bars work or schooling as a condition to qualify (Bill s.3(3)(c)).
• Protects exceptional health and disability supports from being reduced if a GLBI is implemented (Bill s.3(3)(d)).
• Directs creation of national standards to guide provincial implementation and complementary services (Bill s.3(3)(b)).
• Requires a framework report within 1 year of the Act coming into force, publication within 10 days, then periodic reviews and annual reports (Bill ss.4–5).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • No new cash payments or tax changes from this bill. It creates a plan, not a benefit (Bill s.3; s.4).
  • If a future GLBI is adopted, eligibility would include people over 17 without a work, training, or school requirement (Bill s.3(1), s.3(3)(c)).
  • A future GLBI would be set using local cost‑of‑living measures defined in the framework (Bill s.3(3)(a)).

• Workers and job seekers

  • A future GLBI under this framework would not require labor market participation to qualify (Bill s.3(3)(c)).
  • No immediate change to employment insurance, wages, or work incentives from this bill.

• Persons with disabilities and people with exceptional health needs

  • The framework must ensure that implementing a GLBI does not reduce services or benefits that meet exceptional health or disability needs (Bill s.3(3)(d)).
  • No immediate change to existing disability programs from this bill.

• Students and trainees

  • A future GLBI would not require enrollment in education or training to qualify (Bill s.3(3)(c)).
  • No immediate change to student aid or tuition policies.

• Newcomers and non‑citizens

  • The framework includes temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants in potential eligibility (Bill s.3(1)). No immediate payments.

• Indigenous peoples and organizations

  • The Minister must consult Indigenous elders and Indigenous governing bodies while developing and reviewing the framework (Bill s.3(2); s.5).

• Provinces, territories, and local governments

  • The framework will set national standards to guide implementation in every province and align health and social supports (Bill s.3(3)(b)).
  • Provinces and relevant ministers must be consulted (Bill s.3(2)). The bill does not require provinces to launch a GLBI.

• Timeline and transparency

  • Framework report due within 1 year after the Act comes into force; published within 10 days after tabling in both Houses (Bill s.4(1)–(2)).
  • Within 2 years after that first report, and every year after, the Minister must review effectiveness and table annual reports (Bill s.5).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable (planning and reporting only; no program spending authorized).

• No fiscal note was identified. The bill contains no appropriations and authorizes no benefit payments.
• Mandated activities:
  • Develop and table a national framework within 1 year of coming into force (Bill s.4(1)).
  • Publish the framework within 10 days after tabling in both Houses (Bill s.4(2)).
  • Conduct a review within 2 years after the framework report is tabled in both Houses, and annually thereafter; table annual reports (Bill s.5).
• Expected federal administrative costs for consultations, analysis, and reporting: Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Creates a clear federal roadmap, deadlines, and public reporting to advance work on a GLBI (Bill s.4–5).
• Ensures broad and inclusive eligibility, including people over 17, temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants (Bill s.3(1)).
• Reduces barriers by prohibiting work, training, or school requirements as conditions of eligibility (Bill s.3(3)(c)).
• Requires region‑specific measures of a livable income so amounts reflect local costs of goods and services (Bill s.3(3)(a)).
• Protects people with exceptional health or disability needs by barring cuts to those supports if a GLBI is implemented (Bill s.3(3)(d)).
• Improves coordination by creating national standards for complementary health and social supports, developed with provinces and Indigenous partners (Bill s.3(2)–(3)(b)).

Opponents' View#

• Provides no cost estimates, fiscal plan, or funding source; creates expectations without budget clarity (Bill s.3–5).
• Risks federal overreach into areas of provincial responsibility by setting “national standards” that guide provincial implementation of income support and health systems (Bill s.3(3)(b)).
• The no‑work‑requirement principle could reduce labor supply; the bill does not include measures to monitor or offset this risk (Bill s.3(3)(c)).
• Broad eligibility, including certain non‑citizens, could increase the eventual program size and potential cost compared with citizen‑only models (Bill s.3(1)).
• Lacks definitions for key terms like “livable basic income” and the content of “national standards,” which could delay agreement and complicate implementation (Bill s.3(3)(a)–(b)).
• Maintaining all exceptional health/disability supports while adding a GLBI may create benefit overlap and administrative complexity unless carefully coordinated (Bill s.3(3)(d)).