October 2, 2024
The Honourable Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Justin.Trudeau@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health
Mark.Holland@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Steven MacKinnon
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Steven.MacKinnon@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Andrew Scheer
House Leader of the Official Opposition
Andrew.Scheer@parl.gc.ca
Alain Therrien
House Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Alain.Therrien@parl.gc.ca
Peter Julian
House Leader of the New Democratic Party
Peter.Julian@parl.gc.ca
Standing Senate Committee on National Finance
nffn@sen.parl.gc.ca
RE: Support for Bills S-233 and C-233 “An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income”
Dear Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, House Leaders, and National Finance Committee:
Peterborough Public Health (PPH) agrees with our peers in Middlesex-London, Ottawa Public Health and Thunder Bay Public Health Units, in our support for a guaranteed livable basic income as a policy option for addressing poverty, income and food insecurity and for boosting opportunities for people with lower incomes. We urge you to support Bills S-233 and C-233 “An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income”, currently being considered by the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and in the process of the second reading in the House of Commons. These Bills are designed to ensure progress towards developing a basic income model that will be effective in moving individuals and their families out of poverty.
An agreed model, when implemented, will impact many lives. In 2022, 10.9% of Ontarians lived in poverty based on the Market Basket Measure, an increase from 7.7% in 2021.1 In 2022, 16.2% of Peterborough households, with or without children (20,210 people), were low income based on the Census Family Low Income Measure (CFLIM-AT).2 Nearly one in five (19%) local households live in a food insecure household.3 PPH conducts the Nutritious Food Basket survey annually to monitor the affordability of food in Peterborough City and Region. The 2023 results, with its various case studies, demonstrate that incomes, particularly when dependent on social assistance, are not adequate for many residents of Peterborough and its region to afford basic needs.4
As our Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Thomas Piggott pointed out at a recent local Symposium on Healthy Incomes: “All paths to health lead to income.” The evidence to support this assertion is significant:
The link between income and health or well-being
- Income has a critical impact on health, with beter health outcomes associated with higher income levels, and poorer health outcomes associated with lower income levels.5
- Income increases access to other social determinants of health (e.g., education, food, housing).5 In fact, income is understood as having the strongest socioeconomic determinant of food insecurity.6,7
- Children living in poverty have an increased risk for cognitive shortfalls and behavioural conditions, and an increased risk of negative health outcomes into adulthood (e.g., cardiovascular disorders, certain cancers, mental health conditions, osteoporosis and fractures, dementia).8,9,10
- Food insecurity is associated with an increased risk of a wide range of physical and mental health challenges, including chronic conditions, non-communicable diseases, infections, depression, anxiety, and stress.11,12,13,14,15,16
- Among young children, food insecurity is also associated with poor child health, low birth weight, chronic illness, developmental risk, and poor cognitive outcomes, including vocabulary and math skills.17,18,19
Findings from interventions
Evidence from Canadian trials and internationally suggests that basic income positively impacts health and wellbeing.20, 21 Successful examples of a Canadian basic income include the Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). In a cohort of individuals over 65 receiving OAS/GIS, compared to a cohort aged 55-64 years, the probability of food insecurity was reduced by half, even when age, sex, income level, and home ownership were considered.22 In addition, evidence suggests income supplementation reduces food insecurity for low-income Canadians and positively impacts childhood health outcomes (e.g., birth weight, mental health).23 Early findings about the impact of cash transfers in British Columbia also indicate reduced homelessness and substance use for people recently unhoused.24
Upstream income-based solutions, such as a guaranteed livable basic income, are needed to address poverty, income insecurity, and household food insecurity and their significant impacts on health and well-being.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Councillor Joy Lachica
Chair, Board of Health
cc: Michelle Ferreri, Member of Parliament, Michelle.Ferreri@parl.gc.ca
Philip Lawrence, Member of Parliament, Philip.Lawrence@parl.gc.ca
Jamie Schmale, Member of Parliament, Jamie.Schmale@parl.gc.ca
Senator Percy Mockler, Chair, National Finance Committee, Percy.Mockler@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Éric Forest, Deputy Chair, National Finance Committee, Eric.Forest@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Clément Gignac, Clement.Gignac@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Larry W. Smith, LarryW.Smith@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais, Jean-Guy.Dagenais@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Rosa Galvez, Rosa.Galvez@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Tony Loffreda, Tony.Loffreda@sen.parl.gc.ca
Senator Jane MacAdam, Jane.MacAdam@sen.parl.gc.ca
References:
1 Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0135-01 Low-income statistics by age, sex and economic family type. DOI: htps://doi.org/10.25318/1110013501-eng.
2 Statistics Canada. Table 11-10-0018-01 After-tax low-income status of tax filers and dependants based on Census Family Low Income Measure (CFLIM-AT), by family type and family type composition. DOI: After-tax low income status of tax filers and dependants based on Census Family Low Income Measure (CFLIM-AT), by family type and family type composition (statcan.gc.ca)
3 This number is a 3-year average from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) that needs to be interpreted with caution due to a small sample size and variability in the sample. Food insecurity numbers may be underestimated as CIS samples do not include unhoused individuals or Indigenous Peoples living on-reserve.
4 Peterborough Public Health. Addressing Food Insecurity in Peterborough – An Urgent Call to Action. December 2023.
5 Raphael, D., Bryant, T., Mikkonen, J. and Raphael, A. (2020). Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Oshawa: Ontario Tech University Faculty of Health Sciences and Toronto: York University School of Health Policy and Management
6 Men, F., Fafard St-Germain, A., Ross, K., Remtulla, R., Tarasuk, V. (2023). Effect of Canada Child Benefit on Food Insecurity: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(6): 844-852.
7 Idzerda, L., Corrin, T., Lazarescu, C., Couture, A., Vallières, E., Khan, S., Tarasuk, V., McIntyre, L., Garica, A.J. (2024) Public policy interventions to mitigate household food insecurity in Canada: A systematic review, Public Health Nutrition, 27 (1) 1-14.
8 Lee, H., Slack, K. S., Berger, L. M., Mather, R. S., & Murray, R. K. (2021). Childhood poverty, adverse childhood experiences, and adult health outcomes. Health & Social Work, 46(3), 159-170.
9 Maalouf, M., Fearon, M., Lipa, M. C., Chow-Johnson, H., Tayeh, L., & Lipa, D. (2021). Neurologic Complications of Poverty: the Associations Between Poverty as a Social Determinant of Health and Adverse Neurologic Outcomes. Current neurology and neuroscience reports, 21(7), 29.
10 Wise, P. H. (2016). Child poverty and the promise of human capacity: childhood as a foundation for healthy aging. Academic pediatrics, 16(3), S37-S45.
11 Jessiman-Perreault, G. & McIntyre, L. (2017). The household food insecurity gradient and potential reductions in adverse population mental health outcomes in Canadian adults. SSM - Population Health, 3:464-472.
12 Francis, J., Mildon, A., Tarasuk, V., Frank, L. (2024) Household food insecurity is negatively associated with achievement of prenatal intentions to feed only breast milk in the first six months postpartum. Frontiers in Nutrition. 11 (1-10)
13 Men, F., Elgar, F.J., Tarasuk, V. (2021) Food insecurity is associated with mental health problems among Canadian youth. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 75(8), 741-748.
14 Men, F., Tarasuk, V. (2020) Severe food insecurity associated with mortality among lower-income Canadian adults approaching eligibility for public pensions: A populaon cohort study. BMC Public Health 20(1) 1-9.
15 Ontario Dietitians in Public Health (2020). Position statement and recommendations on response to food insecurity. ODPH Position Statement on Responses to Food Insecurity Retrieved on August 21, 2024.
16 Bloch, G., Bushey, C., Forget, E., Hamidian, A., Neudorf, C., Pereira, A., Simon, L., Welsh, F., Zvric, A. Health Case for Basic Income (2020) case for health (basicincomecoalition.ca) Retrieved August 21, 2024.
17 de Oliveira, K.H.D., de Almeida, G.M., Gubert, M.B., Moura, A.S., Spaniol, A.M., Hernandez, D.C., Pérez-Escamilla, R., & Buccini, G. (2020). Household food insecurity and early childhood development: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition.16(3):e12967. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12967.
18 Lye, C.W., Sivasampu, S., Mahmudiono, T., & Majid, H.A. (2023). A systematic review of the relationship between household food insecurity and childhood undernutrition. Journal of Public Health (Oxf). 29;45(4):e677-e691. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad070.
19 Simonovich, S.D., Pineros-Leano, M., Ali, A., Awosika, O., Herman, A., Withington, M.H.C., Loiacono, B., Cory, M., Estrada, M., Soto, D., & Buscemi, J. (2020). A systematic review examining the relationship between food insecurity and early childhood physiological health outcomes. Translational Behavioral Medicine. 12;10(5):1086-1097. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa021. htps://academic.oup.com/tbm/article-abstract/10/5/1086/5921050.
20 McKay, F.H., Bennet, R., & Dunn, M. (2023). How, why and for whom does a basic income contribute to health and wellbeing: a systematic review. Health Promotion International. 1;38(5):daad119. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daad119.
21 Ferdosi, M., McDowell, T., Lewchuk, W., & Ross, S. (2020). Southern Ontario’s basic income experience. Retrieved from htps://labourstudies.socsci.mcmaster.ca/documents/southern-ontarios-basic-income-experience.pdf.
22 McIntyre, L., Duton, D.J., Kwok, C., & Emery, J.C.H. (2016). Reduction of food insecurity among low-income Canadian seniors as a likely impact of a guaranteed annual income. Canadian Public Policy 42:3, 274-286.
23 Idzerda, L., Corrin, T., Lazarescu, C., Couture, A., Vallieres, E., Khan, S., et al. (2024). Public policy interventions to mitigate household food insecurity in Canada: A systematic review. Public Health Nutrion, 27(1), e83. Retrieved from htps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrion/arcle/public-policy-intervenons-to-migate-household-foodinsecurity-in-canada-a-systemac-review/01E81A2540245BAC803B608D087B864
24 Dwyer, R., Palepu, A., Williams, C. Zhao, J. Unconditional cash transfers reduce homelessness. PNAS. 120 (36). Doi: 10.1073/pnas.2222103120.