BICN - Basic Income Canada Network

Tags: Social-economic relations Reputation/legitimacy New Framing National government Local/regional government International networks ICT tools Formalizing Experimenting Civil Society organizations Challenging institutions

The basic income debate in Canda has experienced ebbs and flows but it has always taken place somewhat closer to and more embedded in policy processes compared to other countries studied in the TRANSIT project in relation to the case of basic income (Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland). A prime example is the Mincome experiment that was jointly funded and conducted by the provincial government of Manitoba and the Canadian national government in the 1970s. Another example is the "In From the Margins" report published by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs in 2009, which proposed adding basic income to the national policy agenda and the thorough assessment of past and planned experiments.

The six critical turning points in the history of the Canadian branch of the BIEN network discussed are:

1. The founding of BIEN-Canada,
2. The publication of "The Town with No Poverty", a report on health-related findings of the Mincome experiment,
3. The publication of the above mentioned "In From the Margins" report,
4. The re-naming of BIEN-Canada into BICN (Basic Income Canada Network) and the launch of a new website,
5. The BIG push campaign supported by BICN, and
6. The (planned) pilot project in the province of Ontario.