Editor:
One result of social and economic difficulties brought about by COVID-19 is renewed interest in the value of social programs.
The federal government recently announced a series of programs that suggest interest in a guaranteed annual income.
A 1973 experiment in Dauphin, Man., that distributed a fixed income to residents showed improvements in social, economic, and health metrics for those who participated in the program. Unfortunately the program was temporary.
Over 40 years later, premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government introduced a pilot project in Ontario that aimed to give a fixed income to people with low or no income. Given the extreme nature of the crisis in Ontario, perhaps Doug Ford, along with Ottawa, will see the value of reinstating that 2017 project that he cancelled after its 10-month trial and consider expanding it nationwide.
While we are at it, let’s reconsider permanent funding for food banks and building homes for the homeless, and allow more citizens to determine local budgets.
Robert Wotton, Roberts Creek
