Read about what's new and what it won't do

What won't Bill S-206 do?
This bill does not detail how the GLBI would work, precisely who would get it, or how much it would cost and be paid for. What they do require is for the government to take the first crucial step to convene all the necessary stakeholders, hash out the many complicated issues, and make an actual plan so that provinces, territories and the federal government can move forward together and create a Basic Income. 

Like Bill C-273 before it, Bill S-206 is limited in what it can force the government to do. In our system, only the government is allowed to raise taxes and spend money, so only the government is able to actually create a Basic Income.
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What’s the difference between these and previous Bills and Motions? 
‍Like Bill C-273 and Motion 46 before it, this bill aims to pressure, or otherwise require, the government to formally start investigating and determining how a Basic Income should work and be implemented in Canada. However, neither of these two previous legislative attempts was passed: Motion 46 was defeated and Bill C-273 was not brought to a vote before Parliament ended because of an election. 

The differences between these pieces of legislation include: specifying who would qualify for a Basic Income, who must be consulted about creating these plans, and the timelines for doing so. 

As an update to S-233 and C-223, S-206 includes some very moderate changes including: expanding the scope and nature of the consultations that should inform the drafting of the framework, reiterating the jurisdictional responsibilities of provincial and Indigenous governments, and omitting the requirement that the framework include temporary workers, permanent residents, and refugee claimants.

In our opinion, Bill S-206 has two key features. First, it recognize that Basic Income is not, in and of itself, a total solution to poverty and therefore requires that it be complimented by national standards for health and social supports that would work alongside the program. Second, it explicitly forbids the introduction of a Basic Income causing a reduction in the services or benefits people are receiving as part of exceptional health or disability programs.