Month: February 2008

I recently stumbled upon a great article at the star,An article about guaranteeing income for all Canadians. A guaranteed annual income, wow what a concept. I never really gave a concept like that a thought. It is already in use in some form or another in other countries. This is a way to rid Canada of poverty. Canada has more than 1.5 million people living below the poverty line, with most of that number being children. With current social programs people struggle to get above that line. Some one on welfare is penalized for taking a job to get ahead. There are claw-backs that reduce the assistance they receive, once they take their minimum wage jobs. Getting a job at minimum wage is no better than receiving social assistance. Many employed people are the working poor. Living in shelters, going to food banks, not able to afford the basic necessities. A quote from Hugh Segal. I do not believe that, in a country such as Canada, fellow citizens must live so far below what we consider a poverty line that they are unable to provide the basic necessities of shelter, food and clothing for themselves and their children. And based on the current allowances provided by the welfare system, I also refuse to accept that people purposely choose to avoid employment in order to subsist on such a paltry...