Kingston Whig-Standard

Kingston city council is the first elected body in Canada to endorse the concept of a guaranteed income.

A lengthy motion, passed on Tuesday night by a unanimous 13-0 vote, calls on municipalities across the country to adopt similar resolutions and send notice to their provincial and federal leaders.

… a guaranteed income is not a disincentive for finding work; income is not wasted; and the cost to taxpayers is partially offset by the fact that governments would no longer require large bureaucracies to oversee welfare system payments.

In 2004, Canada spent about $130 billion a year on federal and provincial transfer payments such as employment insurance, social assistance and the child tax benefit.