"The essays examine income distribution in Canada, the influence on it of factors such as sex, age and education, and the effect of various government programs, including current transfer programs, on the welfare of Canadians. Contributors also address key policy issues in these areas."--

To the extent that consumption is a fair reflection of real economic well-being, the standard of living of the top 10% is about 3.85 times that of the bottom 10%, on an adult-equivalent basis. [...] Second, the paper will examine the issue of data reliability in the context of the measurement of inequality. [...] The April 1999 report of the Auditor General of Canada pointed out that the underground economy, which it defines as any "legal transactions in goods and services that are 'hidden', resulting in the evasion of taxes," (Canada, Office of the Auditor General, 1999: 2-7) amounted to about 4.5% of GDP. [...] While all of this literature suggests that there are good reasons for concern about the reliability of the income data that researchers use to study inequality, regrettably there does not appear to be a study which compares the size of the underground economy or of unreported income over the past several decades using the same methodology. [...] Unfortunately, there is little mention of the problem of unreported income in any of the studies dealing with the measurement of income inequality in Canada cited above.

Is Canada becoming a more polarized society? Or is it a kind-hearted nation that takes care of its disadvantaged? This volume closely examines these differing views through a careful analysis of the causes, trends, and dimensions of inequality to provide an overall assessment of the state of inequality in Canada. Contributors include economists, sociologists, philosophers, and political scientists, and the discussion ranges from frameworks for thinking about inequality, to original analyses using Canadian data, to assessments of significant policy issues, methodologies, and research directions. What emerges is the most detailed picture of inequality in Canada to date and, disturbingly, one that shows signs of us becoming a less just society. An invaluable source of information for policy makers, researchers, and students from a broad variety of disciplines, Dimensions of Inequality in Canada will also appeal to readers interested or involved in public debates over inequality.

Before the COVID‐19 pandemic, the idea of providing a basic income to everyone in Canada who needs it was already gaining broad support. Then, in response to a crisis that threatened to put millions out of work, the federal government implemented new measures which constituted Canada's largest ever experiment with a basic income for almost everyone. In this new and revised edition, Evelyn L. Forget offers a clear‐eyed look at how these emergency measures could be transformed into a program that ensures an adequate basic income for every Canadian. Forget details what we can learn from earlier basic income experiments in Canada and internationally. She weighs the options, investigates whether Canadians can afford a permanent basic income program and describes how it could best be implemented across the country. This accessible book offers everything a reader needs to decide if a basic income program is the right follow-up to the short-term government response to COVID‐19.