There is no reason that in one of the richest countries in the world, people should be living unhoused and in poverty. The crises of poverty put strain on the health care and justice systems, and create the conditions for gender-based violence. GLBI is the most effective way to eradicate poverty, support the health care and justice systems, and is our best chance at eliminating gender-based violence.
Living in poverty is linked to higher rates of disease, mental health distress, addictions, physical disability, incarceration, a shorter lifespan, and dramatically increases a person's likelihood of experiencing violence including gender-based violence.
Women who live in poverty face higher rates of sexual assault and exploitation, human trafficking, intimate partner violence and abuse, and femicide. Currently, 1 in 4 children in Canada live in poverty.
The enormous social costs of poverty have cascading economic costs. Billions of dollars currently spent in reactive health care, emergency services, and the justice system can be diverted back to the public wallet by proactively meeting people’s basic needs.
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls clearly stated that we cannot end violence without first meeting people’s social and economic needs. The inquiry’s Call to Justice 4.5 specifically calls for the establishment of a GLBI.
The power of GLBI to reduce the social harms caused by poverty was illustrated by the Dauphin Basic Income Pilot during the 1970s in Manitoba, known as “Mincome”. Some of the outcomes from that initiative include a decrease in hospitalizations, a rise in the number of young people completing high school and improvements in mental health. 2020 saw the largest reduction in childhood poverty ever in Canada because of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit - the elimination of this guaranteed income benefit risks rolling back this progress but a GLBI would ensure we are doing everything we can to eradicate poverty for children and all people in Canada.