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The Senate’s national finance committee will study a bill on October 17 which would create a national framework for—but not actually implement—UBI, according to a press release from the office of Ontario Senator Kim Pate. An identical bill exists in the House of Commons and is sponsored by Member of Parliament Leah Gazan.

The bill in the Senate, which received a first and second reading in 2021 and last April, respectively, would require provincial ministers and Indigenous governing bodies across the country to convene and determine how a UBI plan could work. This would include ensuring that “participation in education, training or the labour market” is not required to receive UBI, and that funding for other social services are not cut. If the bill passes both the Senate and House of Commons, a report would have to be made public a year after the study begins.