Political Champions of Basic Income

Introduction

Key federal and state legislators from Canada who have championed a basic income guarantee and policy advocates in the United States discuss what has worked to build coalitions among their political colleagues and within and outside of the government. Topics covered included challenges they’ve faced as they build coalitions for direct cash programs and legislation and what means they’ve used to raise the profile of basic income on the public policy agenda and a push for action. Panelists each bring a wealth of knowledge and together reflect diverse experiences that have informed their fight for basic income.

Click here to watch this session from our 2021 conference.

About the Panelists

The Honourable Kim Pate, Independent Senator, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent nearly 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.

Julie Dzerowicz, Member of Parliament, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent nearly 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.

Leah Gazan, Member of Parliament, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Leah Gazan is Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre. She is currently the New Democratic Party's Critic for Children, Families, and Social Development, as well as the Deputy Critic for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship. Leah has been a champion in the fight for a permanent guaranteed livable basic income in Canada and earlier this year was named to Maclean's 2021 Power List. She was a prominent Winnipeg lead during Idle No More and co-founded the #WeCare campaign aimed at building public will to end violence against Indigenous women and girls. Leah is a member of Wood Mountain Lakota Nation, located in Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 territory.

Liam deClive-Lowe

Liam deClive-Lowe serves as Executive Director at Humanity Forward. In this role, he is building a fully-bipartisan advocacy operation — to accelerate the passage of direct cash relief policies, to advance basic income, and to eradicate poverty in America. Prior to this role, Liam served as an advisor, staffer, and manager on numerous presidential and Senate campaigns in every region of the country.

Stacey Rutland

Stacey Rutland is the founder of Income Movement. With degrees in English Literature, History, and Education she first landed in the classroom then to user experience research and design, eventually founding a product design agency in Portland, OR working with Fortune 500 companies. Her passion for economics, and background in technology led Stacey to the basic income community where, in early 2019 she began to work with organizations across the basic income ecosystem. By late 2019 she established Income Movement, an organization advocating for economic justice through fostering highly collaborative coalitions and building a grassroots movement for basic income.

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Moderated by:

Sheila Regehr