http://www3.sympatico.ca/francislerner/
BASIC INCOME/Canada Note that Sally Lerner who co-hosts FW is a major force in the basic income discussions in Canada and abroad. Arthur From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 7:56 PM To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'; [email protected] Subject: [Futurework] Meeting on social rights issues I attended a meeting this morning that dealt with whether issues such as access to food and housing are human rights. The speakers, Leilani Farha of the Centre for Equality Rights in Accomodation and Bruce Porter of the Social Rights Advocacy Centre, argued very strongly that food and housing were indeed human rights and should be recognized as such. They were followed by a strongly argued presentation by Senator Hugh Segal (Canadian, not American, Senate) on the need for a Guaranteed Annual Income, which, he argued, could easily be provided via the income tax system. If we had a GAI, Segal argued, we wouldn't have to worry about public housing, food banks, etc. All very well, but if it made that much sense and could readily be implemented, why hasn't it been done? There wasn't time to ask him that, however, because he had to dash back to Parliament Hill. Segal is a Conservative, though appointed by Paul Martin, a Liberal Prime Minister, not Stephen Harper, the current Conservative P.M. He does, however, carry a lot of political weight, so why isn't he pushing very hard instead of just making speeches? Maybe he is, but we can't know it because of the fog surrounding our government. Ed
_______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
