By Isaac Lamoureux
An NDP attempt to push through universal basic income was short-lived after a majority of MPs voted against a bill to push through the initiative during its second reading.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh endorsed MP Leah Gazan’s “Bill for a Framework for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income”, however 83.5% of MPs voted against the bill.
While the bill’s defeat is welcome news, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Franco Terrazzano, told True North that taxpayers need to stay vigilant and keep pushing back against any such policies.
“Bad ideas never seem to go away in Ottawa, so taxpayers must stay alert and continue to push politicians to fight against guaranteed income schemes,” said Terrazzano. “Politicians should be making life more affordable by cutting taxes and letting Canadians keep more of their own money.”
Bill C-233 aimed to have the Minister of Finance table a report with a framework to provide Canadians 17 years and older, including temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants, with a guaranteed livable income. The bill specified that the framework should outline that participation in education, training, or the labour market would not be required to qualify for the income.
According to the bill, the amount provided would be region-specific and take into account the cost of goods and services necessary to ensure individuals could lead a dignified and healthy life.
The bill’s overwhelming defeat resulted in 273 MPs voting against it and 54 MPs voting in its favour. NDP MPs and a few Liberals supported the bill.
Prior to the bill being defeated, Terrazzano warned that its passing would be a disaster for taxpayers, businesses, and the Canadian economy, urging every politician to vote against it.
“The government is broke and is more than $1 trillion in debt, so this expensive scheme would mean massive tax hikes for average Canadians,” he told True North. “It would make it harder for Canadian businesses to find and retain talent because if the government pays people not to work, fewer people will work.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially doubled Canada’s debt on Aug. 30, accumulating more debt than every other Prime Minister before him combined. When he first took office, Canada had $616 billion in debt, which has now doubled to over $1.232 trillion.
According to the CTF’s federal debt clock, the debt costs each Canadian over $31,000.
“The government can’t even launch a simple app or pay its own employees without soaking taxpayers, so there’s no way the government could launch this scheme without fumbling the ball and ballooning the tab,” said Terrazzano.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report in 2021, highlighting that universal basic income would cost taxpayers $85 billion a year.
Singh’s post to X promoting the bill received overwhelmingly negative feedback as of Sep. 25, with many users who replied urging Singh to force an election rather than pushing for more expensive socialist programs.The Bloc Québécois and NDP both voted against the Conservatives’ non-confidence motion on Wednesday, as neither are willing to budge on propping up the Liberal government.
