Thunder Bay’s chamber teaming up with other chambers, including from Hamilton, to push the Federal Government to create a basic income pilot project.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce also wants to assess the potential costs, benefits, pitfalls, challenges and outcomes of a nationwide basic income social assistance program.
“From the perspectives of our Members, some of the great appeals of Guaranteed Basic Income are that it could have the effect of streamlining a complicated welfare system and enhancing efforts to build a skilled workforce while injecting money into communities that gets spent overwhelmingly at local businesses,” says President Charla Robinson of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Hamilton and Thunder Bay were two communities chosen by the previous provincial government for a three-year basic income pilot project.
That project was cut short after one year due to a change in government.
