Today, 4.9 million Canadians live below the poverty line, but this situation is not a new problem (Canada Without Poverty, 2018). Social welfare and poverty have been a problem since the time of feudalism (Hicks, 2014). This paper will address the past and current issues of poverty in Canada and the welfare state. Furthermore, it analyzes universal basic income – a program that aims to provide people with enough money to meet their basic needs – as a solution to poverty that can be affected by the use of social media. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The second chapter of Social Welfare in Canada identifies that the systemic problem of poverty in Canada may have its roots in feudal-era Britain. At the time, the lords allowed surfers to work on their land in exchange for food and shelter. However, this system was abolished due to the demand for wool. The lords, on the other hand, only retained workers who were not "lazy". This left others without work and therefore without food and shelter. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, then created a labor shortage, forcing surfers to return to work. In the 16th century the population was replenished, but many remained in poverty due to lack of work. In 1536 the British Poor Law was passed in an attempt to stop people begging on the streets and force them to find work. Only those who could not work were issued a document that allowed them to continue begging. This idea was carried forward in 1601 with the passing of the Elizabeth Poor Law, where the deserving and undeserving poor were defined. The ideas of the Elizabeth Poor Law were brought to Canada during the colonial period. It was only with the industrial period and the Great Depression that the ideology surrounding poverty changed. People have begun to understand that poverty can be the result of economic and market-driven forces. Over time, poverty rates have decreased, but it remains a problem in Canada. Out of a population of 36 million people, 1 in 7 people struggle to meet basic needs (Canada Without Poverty, 2018). Poverty can be defined as the lack of means to “achieve a minimum but sustainable standard of physical well-being” (Lammam and MacIntyre, 2016, p. 8). Furthermore, people who meet this definition are constantly changing. A student typically finds a better paying job after finishing school or someone who gets fired can find another job, although there are people who are perpetually in poverty. Those most at risk typically have a disability, are a single parent, do not have a high school diploma, and/or are part of a visible minority. These groups of people have difficulty finding work due to the stigmas surrounding their situation (Lammam & MacIntyre, 2016). Furthermore, there is a correlation between health and poverty. Being in poverty puts a person at greater risk of illness and disease. Furthermore, people in poverty are more likely to die from disease because they do not have the resources to receive adequate care (Raphael, 2002). One solution to Canada's current poverty problem is Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI can be defined as a guaranteed minimum income that allows you to meet basic needs. Throughout history, there have been various UBI pilot projects in both Canada and the United States, including New Jersey, Seattle, North Carolina, Denver, and Gary (Forget et al, 2016). In 1974, a pilot project, called Mincome in, was introduced in CanadaManitoba. Hicks (2014) used the story of Mincome to support the idea of ​​General Annual Income, a program that would provide Canadians with 70% of the minimum income needed to alleviate poverty. However, this program was not introduced due to the fear of people not working and the idea of ​​inflation. To address these concerns, Manitoba implemented the Mincome project by randomly choosing low-income residents of Manitoba to receive a general annual income. Overall, the results of this study were not significant, but during the experiment only 1% of participants stopped working - many took the opportunity to focus on their family. Additionally, in the city of Dauphin, people who did not meet the Mincome criteria were eligible to participate. In this city, there has been a decrease in hospital and doctor visits and an increase in the percentage of students who have completed high school (Hicks, 2014, p. 57). Other pilot projects found that basic income also brought indirect benefits. In North Carolina, it was found that test scores improved in elementary schools and that there was a positive correlation between UBI and positive effects on birth weight (Forget et al, 2016). Although these past pilot projects have never been fully integrated into the current welfare state, they provide examples of the pros and cons of a basic income system, which can be used to implement a better program. While past pilot projects have not been well received, it is important to consider the changes that have occurred in society since these programs were implemented. Forget et al. (2016) underlined these changes with the saying “this is not the labor market of our grandparents” (p. 11). What they mean is that there are now more acceptable ways to give back to the community. By implementing UBI, individuals can choose to volunteer or care for their families, while developing skills that will allow them to find better-paying jobs that they will enjoy. Another benefit of UBI is that it is a fixed amount of money each month, regardless of income (Forget et al., 2016). One of the problems with current welfare programs is that additional earnings come with the risk of losing welfare funding. For example, if someone has a job where they make $1,200 a month, they will no longer receive $1,000 from welfare, but because of taxes and expenses of commuting to work, this person will have less than $1,000 at the end of the month. However, UBI does not come without concerns. First, how will it be financed? There are two ways to finance basic income: cut other programs or raise taxes. However, people are unique, so cutting different programs could put some in a worse situation. UBI funding leads to concerns about how much the program would cost, but if people currently below the poverty line had an adequate amount of money, they could spend more, thus contributing to the economy (Parijs, 2004)Chapter 3 of Wellbeing Social Policy in Canada highlights various political ideologies and their relationship to social well-being. An ideology that refers to universal basic income is a social democratic political ideology. Social Democrats believe that social inequality is inefficient for society and that everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed. Similar to UBI ideas, Social Democrats support universal programs and believe that the government should take responsibility for the poor (Hicks, 2014). However, programs like UBI are not widely known. One way to.