The Remarkable Impact of Canada’s Pandemic Benefit Proves Basic Income Works
And we’re not going back to pre-pandemic poverty… Here’s how
This year, my birthday fell on the first weekend after Ontario declared a state of emergency in response to the accelerating coronavirus pandemic. My spouse and I went into our shared workplace, only for me to be let go and he furloughed. We fought the rest of the day - how would we cover the rent, student loan payments and the other bills?
Before the pandemic, our situation had already been desperate, as it’s nearly impossible for autistics like me to find accommodating employment that offers a living wage. Only 10–15% of autistic adults in Ontario are employed at all. Like many millennials, we never recovered financially from the last recession. And like nearly half (46%) of Canadians, we lived paycheck to paycheck and had minimal savings.
It was days ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unveiling of the Liberals’ Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), a $500/week income supplement for those who lost work due to the mandatory shutdown of most workplaces. We held back on ordering a birthday pizza with the money my parents sent, unsure of what the future would hold.
