Basic income guarantee pilot
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to begin immediate negotiations with Prince Edward Island to develop and implement a Basic Income Guarantee demonstration in PEI, monitored and evaluated for five to seven years.
Why we would sign this petition
- Gives real-world data to assess whether a basic income reduces poverty and to inform potential national implementation.
- A five-to-seven-year, monitored demonstration would produce longer-term evidence on outcomes, effectiveness and costs.
- Unanimous support from PEI's legislature suggests local political backing that could facilitate federal–provincial project negotiations.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- The petition requests federal involvement but does not specify funding; the pilot could be costly or divert resources from existing programs.
- Findings from a small province like PEI may not generalize to larger provinces with different economies and populations.
- A five-to-seven-year trial delays potential benefits for people in immediate need; faster or alternative measures might offer quicker relief.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada WHEREAS: In November 2020, the final report of the Prince Edward Island Special Committee on Poverty in PEI recommended that the Government of Prince Edward Island begin immediate negotiations with the Government of Canada to develop and implement a Basic Income Guarantee demonstration program for Prince Edward Island; This report was passed unanimously in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island with the support of all political parties; and This demonstration program will benefit all of Canada by providing the information required for broader implementation, as poverty is the primary social determinant of heath and requires bold and creative approaches to understand and address its root causes and consequences in Canada. THEREFORE, we, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to begin immediate negotiations with the Government of Prince Edward Island to develop and implement a Basic Income Guarantee demonstration program in the province of PEI that will be implemented, monitored, and evaluated for five to seven years.
Government response
No government response is available yet.