$53 billion.
That’s how much wealthier Canadian billionaires became during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people across the country have lost their jobs, and many of us are struggling to make ends meet. [1,2]
If politicians truly understood how stressful it is for people who can’t afford to pay their rent or put food on the table, they would find the courage to make basic income — a regular, no-strings payment to everyone who needs it — a priority.
We at Leadnow created a simple tool to help you record a short video telling your story — about why it’s so important that Canada moves forward with a basic income that lifts people out of poverty, helps grow the economy, and create jobs.
If we flood MPs’ feeds and inboxes with powerful personal stories about the need for a basic income — they’ll see that they have mass public support for it. It could be enough to convince MPs to make basic income a priority.
But this will only work if you take a few minutes of your time to record your story. Will you record a video on why basic income is important to you? Key MPs are voting on their policy priorities in the next two weeks, so we need to act fast. [3]
Maybe you’ve never recorded a video message before, but don’t worry — it’s quick and easy.
You could talk about why supporting basic income is the right thing to do to ensure everyone’s basic needs are met.
Or you could share a personal story about yourself or someone you know who is struggling to make ends meet and would benefit from a basic income, it would go a long way.
We’ll compile the videos and send them to the Prime Minister and MPs, splash them all over social media and release them to the media to get your story in front of as many people as possible.
Together, our stories will force our political leaders to confront the intense personal impacts of the inequality crisis. Your story could convince them to make basic income a priority.
Key MPs are voting on their policy priorities in two weeks, so there’s no time to waste.
Already, over 45,000 of you have signed the petition calling for a guaranteed, livable basic income, so that everyone has what they need to get by.
If we can ramp up the pressure with a flood of personal video messages from people all across the country now, we can push our political leaders to take inequality seriously and prioritize a basic income.
Record your video: https://act.leadnow.ca/bi-video-petition/
With hope,
Claire and Simran, on behalf of the entire Leadnow team
Sources:
[1] https://financialpost.com/executive/executive-summary/posthaste-canadian-billionaires-add-50-billion-to-their-wealth-pile-during-the-pandemic
[2] https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-jobs-january-1.5902308
[3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/universal-basic-income-liberal-convention-1.5948847
