IRES’s Dr. Jiaying Zhao to testify in the Canadian Senate on the basic income bill Tuesday, October 17th 2023
Zhao (she/her), UBC Associate Professor in Psychology and IRES, will serve as an expert witness supporting Bill S-233, an Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income. All are welcome to view the livestream at 7am Pacific/10am Eastern.
Update: Zhao’s testimony is now available to watch.
Bill S-233, if passed, would establish the first national framework for an unconditional Guaranteed Livable Basic Income for all persons over 17 across Canada. Tomorrow, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the Senate will study livable basic income with supporters hoping to send it to the House of Commons. The bill is introduced in coordination with C-223, a similar effort from within the House.
The framework would mostly benefit Canadians who are below the poverty line – currently 7.4% of the Canadian population. Two provincial programs have already established precedence for basic income; first, in 1974 in Manitoba and second, in 2017 in Ontario. Although the latter ended prematurely, participants in both programs showed improvements in their physical health and mental wellbeing. Zhao, who studies the psychological impacts of poverty and homelessness, will offer her expertise during the Senate hearing.
“In Vancouver, we just saw a whopping 32% increase in homelessness from 2020 to 2023, which is disproportionate because the Vancouver population only increased by 3%,” Zhao said.
Her work studying cash transfers to those experiencing homelessness showed that cash transfers produced net savings for society because recipients relied less on social services. While basic income is a form of direct cash transfer, Zhao said that the evidence shows that basic income programs can benefit both individuals and society.
“I feel honored to have the opportunity to present in the Senate,” Zhao said. “As a scientist, I’m excited to present evidence from my work on the psychological impacts of poverty, as well as cash transfer approaches to alleviate poverty, to inform public policy. A basic income policy provides income security to the marginalized individuals in our country. It’s much needed right now when many people are struggling with inflation and rising living costs.”
After the Senate meeting, she will participate in a press conference with fellow panelists. Zhao’s findings and recommendations can also be found in her new book: Cash Transfers for Inclusive Societies: A Behavioral Lens. The book provides an understanding of how behavioral science can better inform the design, delivery, and evaluation of cash transfer programs. “Governments, practitioners, and society in general should design cash transfer programs to improve inclusivity and equality, and reduce poverty,” said Zhao.
Check out the links below for more information!
Resources:
- Media contact: communications@ires.ubc.ca
- Live streamed link for the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. Zhao will present at 7am Pacific/10am Eastern: https://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/XRender/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2?fk=616117&globalStreamId=3
- Agenda for the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance: https://sencanada.ca/en/Committees/NFFN/NoticeOfMeeting/616117/44-1
- Bill S-233: https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/S-233/first-reading
- Sign and share the petition telling our Senators to support Bill S-233 and send it to the House! https://www.ubiworks.ca/guaranteed-livable-basic-income
- Book: Cash Transfers for Inclusive Societies: A Behavioral Lens
- Edited by Jiaying Zhao, Saugato Datta and Dilip Soman
- Expert panel and book launch, Wed, Nov 8, 2023 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST, at the U of T: https://utorontopress.com/9781487545178/cash-transfers-for-inclusive-societies/
Jeff Liebert
Bio
Jeff is an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at IRES in Dr. Navin Ramankutty’s Land Use and Global Environment research group (co-supervised by Dr. Elena Bennett at McGill University). As a broadly trained researcher, Jeff draws from natural and social science disciplines in the pursuit of a more sustainable and just agri-food system.
While completing his MSc and PhD at Cornell University, Jeff’s research spanned dairy, grain, and fruit and vegetable systems at local, regional, and national scales. This work covered numerous topics, such as ecological weed management, forage quality trade-offs, the “conventionalization” of organic agriculture, meaningful work and well-being in agroecology, and the sociocultural and political barriers to farmer decision-making.
At IRES, Jeff is exploring how different people and places have fostered multifunctional agriculture across Canada. As one component of this research, he is using machine learning models to generate spatially explicit predictions of where farmers are most likely to cultivate an array of co-benefits from cover cropping. With a broader focus on agriculture and food system transformation, Jeff is also designing a mixed-methods approach to understand the lock-ins and path dependencies that make agri-food systems resistant to change.
Alex Moore
Alex Moore
Assistant Professor, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Assistant Professor, Department of Botany
Contact Details
Lab website: Moore Inclusive Conservation Lab
Bio
Alex Moore is not appointed at IRES and instead is a Faculty Associate of our unit. Please see appointments in left-hand column.
Alex Moore (they/them), and is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia. They completed their PhD at the Yale School of the Environment where their research focused on how predator-prey interactions impact the health and functioning of wetland ecosystems. At UBC, they are expanding upon on this work by branching out into new wetland ecosystems while exploring the cultural implications of habitat restoration and conservation. Through this work they hope to engage in the co-creation of knowledge and sustainable solutions with local communities most directly impacted by conservation practice and policies.
Valerie Zimmermann
Valerie Zimmermann
MA Student
IRES Student Society Trip Co-Coordinator, 2024-25
Contact Details
vzimm1[at]student[dot]ubc[dot]ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-z-5104b3ab/
Wall Scholars profile: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/zimmermann-valerie
Bio
Valerie is an M.A. student with the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia, studying and working under the supervision of Dr. Hannah Wittman. Valerie’s research seeks to understand how organic vegetable farmers in British Columbia make decisions about cover cropping and how the government and farming industry can best support BC farmers to adapt climate-resilient farming practices. For more information about the study, please contact Valerie at vzimm1@student.ubc.ca.
Her research interests include finding ways to support sustainable agriculture in British Columbia through public policy and community initiatives. Valerie’s working experience lies in non-profit project coordination for B.C Indigenous fisheries stewardship and in public education at parks.
Valerie completed her B.A. in Environmental Governance at the University of Guelph. She grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Northern Ontario as an uninvited visitor on the traditional territories of the Anishnaabeg peoples and the Robinson-Huron Treaty. The beauty of her hometown and her close connection to nature inspired her to pursue a career in environmental policy and protection.
Clare Price
Clare Price
IRES Student Society Trip Co-Coordinator, 2024-2025