Envisioning Canada's Future: The Basic Income Revolution

Join Canadian experts as we discuss the economic and social benefits of basic income, the latest developments in Canada and around the world, and common questions and misconceptions about basic income.

AGENDA:

5:00 – 5:30 | Doors Open

5:30 – 5:45 | Opening Remarks 
Chris Ford, Managing Partner, Intelliware

5:45 – 6:15 | Basic Income: An investment in quality of life and security
Dr. Evelyn Forget, Professor of Economics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba

6:15 – 6:20 | Lightning Round: Basic Income in Canada
Ken Yang, Director of Media at UBI Works and CommonWealth.ca

6:20 – 6:35 | Break

6:35 – 6:55 | Basic Income Debate – Evaluating Benefits and Common Misconceptions
Floyd Marinescu, CEO & Co-founder of C4Media Inc., Founder of UBI Works and CommonWealth.ca Sheila Regehr, Founding Member & Chair of Basic Income Canada Network

6:55 – 7:00 | Q & A

7:00 – 7:15 | Closing Remarks
Chris Ford, President at Intelliware & Walid Herzallah, Senior Manager at GiveDirectly

7:15 – 9:00 | Networking

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Evelyn L. Forget 
Professor of Economics & Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba

A renowned Canadian health economist and a leading authority on basic income. She has been appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada for “advancing anti-poverty initiatives in Canada and around the world”. She is the author of the book Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier and More Secure Life for All, which was shortlisted for the 2018-19 Donner Prize. 


Sheila Regehr
Founding Member & Chair of Basic Income Canada Network

Sheila is a founding member of the Basic Income Canada Network, its chair since 2014 and co-author, with Chandra Pasma, of Basic Income: Some Policy Options for Canada (2019). She is a former Executive Director of the National Council of Welfare, the position from which she retired after a 3-decade federal public service career that spanned front-line work, policy development, and international, federal/provincial/territorial and non-governmental relations. 


Floyd Marinescu
CEO & Co-founder of C4Media Inc., Founder of UBI Works and CommonWealth.ca

Floyd is CEO and co-founder of C4Media, which provides software development news and learning events serving 1.2 million online on InfoQ.com, and 8,000 attendees annually via QCon conferences in SF, NY, London, Beijing, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo. Floyd is an angel investor in over a dozen startups and has built teams and businesses in the US, Canada, China, Brazil, and Europe. Floyd is founder and primary donor to UBI Works, a basic income advocacy organization that has grown into a network of over 100,000 basic income supporters across Canada and publishing content seen over 1 million times a month. 


Walid Herzallah
Senior Manager at GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly has delivered over USD $700 million in cash transfers to 1.5 million people in poverty since 2009. The Guardian says they are “sending shockwaves through the charity sector” and Fast Company ranked them in the world’s top 5 most innovative organizations in finance. In 2020, they became the fastest-growing nonprofit in the world. Among other things, they’re delivering the world’s largest and longest universal basic income program in Kenya, reaching 20,000 people for up to 12 years.


Ken Yang
Director of Media at UBI Works and CommonWealth.ca

Intelliware is business and technology consulting company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Intelliware is a leader in Agile software development practices which ensures the delivery of timely, high-quality solutions for clients. Intelliware is engaged as a delivery partner by a wide range of national and global organizations in sectors that span Financial Services, Healthcare, ICT, Retail, Manufacturing, and Government. For over 32 years, Intelliware has provided custom software development and digital engineering solutions that enable organizations to solve complex challenges and accelerate their business goals.