Basic Income

‘Be it resolved that every Canadian should receive a basic income guarantee.’

National experts in economics, law, and social policy ‘face off’ in an Oxford style debate about the merit of providing all Canadians with a guaranteed income.

Held on Monday, 18 April 2016, 7:00pm
Central Library, Wolf Performance Hall
251 Dundas Street, London, ON N6A 6H9

Trailer

Full Debate

About the Debaters

For the Motion

Chandra Pasma is an Ottawa-based policy analyst specializing in issues of income security, poverty, social policy, and gender and politics. Chandra has worked in politics and for non-governmental organizations including the Forum of Federations and Citizens for Public Justice. She is an avid supporter of basic income and has written a number of papers and articles on the subject, including Income Security For All Canadians: Understanding Guaranteed Income, Working Through the Work Disincentive, and Basic Income Programs and Pilots.

Dr. James Mulvale is the Dean of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. Previous to this appointment, he spent fourteen years at the University of Regina, including time as Dept. Head of Justice Studies and Associate Dean of Social Work. His academic interests include poverty reduction, basic or guaranteed income, and the historical and theoretical foundations of social work. He is Vice-Chair of the Basic Income Canada Network, and a member of the Social Policy Interest Group of the Canadian Association of Social Workers. Before embarking on his academic career, Jim worked in community development positions in the fields of developmental disability and community mental health in southwestern Ontario.

Against the Motion

Mike Moffatt is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics and Public Policy group at Ivey. Mike’s interests relate to the intersection of societal issues, public policy and economic growth. He has provided expert testimony to both the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. Mike has worked with Canadian politicians and policy markers of all political stripes to craft more effective public policy, including his most recent role as an economic advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Mike is a frequent commentator on public policy issues in print, on radio, and on television.

Margot Young is Professor in the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests focus on equality law and theory, women’s economic equality, urban theory, and local housing politics and rights. She is also working on the intersections between environmental justice, social justice, feminism, and human rights. She is widely published in a variety of journals and edited books and is a frequent commentator in the media on a variety of issues to do with social justice and socio-economic rights issues. Interviews include local, national, and international print, television, and radio coverage of key constitutional, equality, and civil liberties issues.