Guaranteed livable basic income as justice: addressing colonial inequality

CFSC envisions a world in which dignity, justice, peace, human rights, and harmonious relationships with creation are fostered and upheld. We hold this vision for all Peoples, including Indigenous Peoples. In Canada these have not been upheld equally. It’s worth considering the relationship between our advocacy for a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income (GLBI) and this inequality. It’s a matter of justice.

The title of the summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada is Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future. Let’s begin by honouring the truth. Colonialism defines Canada’s history. The goal of colonialism was and is the enrichment of the colonizers and their descendants. In resisting colonialism’s extraction, Indigenous Peoples in what is now called Canada have been systematically targeted as defenders of their human rights. As the report puts it,

For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada.1

Colonialism remains a dominant force in Canada today, as do the consequences of its enforcement. Not least of which is the disproportionate rate at which Indigenous people experience poverty in comparison to non-Indigenous people. This is especially troubling when considering the inequality faced by Indigenous children.

“It’s a matter of justice.”

 

Indigenous children face higher rates of poverty than non-Indigenous children in Canada. A report notes, “The prevalence of poverty among status First Nations children is 3.8 times higher than non-racialized, non-Indigenous children. For non-status First Nations children, it is two-and-a-half times higher and for Inuit and Metis children, it’s twice as high as non-Indigenous children.”2 This is simply unacceptable and strays far from CFSC’s vision of a world where all people, including Indigenous children, are upheld. As the report goes on to say, “we must, as a society, continue to investigate, challenge, and respond to the role of racism as a driver of child poverty in Canada.” This stark difference in child poverty is an ongoing consequence of colonialism. Our efforts towards reconciliation must therefore respond to this inequality with just policies to correct it.

This inequality also extends to the violence faced by Indigenous women, girls, two spirit, and LGBTQ+ people. As the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls states, colonial Canadian policies have contributed significantly to this disproportionate and endemic violence. Their conclusion characterizes these policies and the resultant violence, as genocide.3 They also note a significant link between this gender-based violence and poverty. One of the commissioners, Qajaq Robinson, said, “It was pretty much everywhere in the country that we heard about how poverty and economic insecurity played a role in the violence.”4

As a response, the report explicitly calls for a GLBI. Recommendation 4.5 states,

We call upon all governments to establish a guaranteed annual livable income for all Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples, to meet all their social and economic needs. This income must take into account diverse needs, realities, and geographic locations.

No child should live in poverty. No person should face violence as a result of economic insecurity. A GLBI is a step towards ending these injustices. It can also be part of recognizing and correcting the colonialism that has caused such tremendous harms and injustices for Indigenous Peoples in this country.

GLBI policy must therefore be developed in cooperation and consultation with Indigenous Peoples, and adhere to the standards of free, prior, and informed consent. This standard is guaranteed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which affirms that the Declaration is part of Canada’s positive law.5

Jeremy Vander Hoek is Assistant, CFSC Events and Indigenous Rights.

  1. Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015, https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf, 1.
  2. Natasha Beedie, David Macdonald, and Daniel Wilson, Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada, Assembly of First Nations and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, July 2019, Upstream_report_final_English_June-24-2019.pdf, 4.
  3. Reclaiming Power and Place: Executive Summary of the Final Report National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, June 2019, https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Executive_Summary.pdf, 4.
  4. Emma Paling, “Why MMIWG Inquiry Report Calls for a National Basic Income,” Huffpost, June 11, 2019, Why MMIWG Inquiry Report Calls For A National Basic Income | HuffPost Politics.
  5. Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (2024) SCC 5, Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families – SCC Cases.