Today, 4.9 million Canadians live below the poverty line, but this situation is not a new problem (Canada Without Poverty, 2018). Welfare and poverty have been a problem since the days of feudalism (Hicks, 2014). This article will address past and current issues of poverty in Canada as well as the welfare state. Additionally, it analyzes universal basic income – a program whose goal is to provide people with enough money to meet their basic needs – as a solution to poverty that can be affected by social media use. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The second chapter of Social Welfare in Canada identifies that the systemic problem of poverty in Canada can trace its roots to the feudal era in Britain. At that time, 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. Instead, lords only kept workers who were not “lazy.” This left others without work and therefore without food or shelter. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death, then created a labor shortage, forcing surfers to return to work. By the 16th century the population recovered, but many found themselves in poverty due to lack of employment. In 1536, the British Poor Law was passed in an attempt to stop people from begging on the streets and force them to find employment. Only those who could not work received a document allowing them to continue begging for money. This idea continued in 1601 with the passage of the Elizabeth Poor Law, which defined deserving and undeserving poor. The ideas of the Elizabeth Poor's Act were introduced to Canada during the colonial period. It was not until the industrial period and the Great Depression that the ideology surrounding poverty changed. People began to understand that poverty can be the result of economic forces and market forces. Over time, poverty rates have declined, but it remains a problem in Canada. Out of a population of 36 million people, 1 in 7 people struggle to meet their basic needs (Canada Without Poverty, 2018). Poverty can be defined as the lack of means to “achieve a minimal but sustainable level of physical well-being” (Lammam and MacIntyre, 2016, p. 8). Additionally, the people who meet this definition are constantly changing. A student usually finds a better-paying job after finishing school or a laid-off person can find another job, although some people are perpetually in poverty. Those most at risk generally have a disability, are single parents, do not have a high school diploma and/or are part of a visible minority. These groups of people have difficulty finding employment due to the stigma surrounding their situation (Lammam and MacIntyre, 2016). Additionally, there is a correlation between health and poverty. Being in poverty puts a person at greater risk of illness. Additionally, poor people are more likely to die from illness because they do not have the resources to receive appropriate 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 to satisfy basic needs. Throughout history, there have been various UBI pilot projects in Canada and the United States, including New Jersey,in Seattle, North Carolina, Denver and Gary (Forget et al, 2016). In 1974, a pilot project, called M Income in Manitoba, was introduced in Canada. Hicks (2014) used the story of M Income to support the idea of ​​General Annual Income, a program that would provide Canadians with 70% of the minimum income needed to reduce poverty. However, this program was not introduced due to the fear of people not working and the concept of inflation. To address these concerns, Manitoba implemented Project M Income 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 this experiment, only 1 percent of participants stopped working: many took the opportunity to focus on their families. Moreover, in the city of Dauphin, people who did not meet the Mrevenu criteria were authorized to participate. In this city, there was a decrease in hospital and doctor visits and there was an increase in the percentage of students completing high school (Hicks, 2014, p. 57). Other pilot projects have found that UBI also has indirect benefits. In North Carolina, test scores were found to improve in elementary schools and there was a positive correlation between UBI and positive effects on birth weight (Forget et al, 2016) . Although these earlier pilot projects were never fully integrated into the current state of the welfare state, they provide examples of the advantages and disadvantages of a basic income system, which can be used to implement a better program. Although previous pilot projects have not been received positively, it is important to consider the changes that have occurred within society since these programs were implemented. Forget et al. (2016) highlighted these changes by stating that “this is not the job 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 have the choice to volunteer or care for their families, while learning skills that will allow them to find higher-paying jobs in which they will enjoy. Another advantage 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 social programs is that additional income comes with the risk of losing social funding. For example, if someone has a job that pays $1,200 a month, they will no longer receive $1,000 in welfare, but because of taxes and travel costs to get to work, that person has less than $1,000 at the end of the month. The UBI is not without concerns, however. First, how will it be financed? There are two ways to fund UBI: cut other programs or raise taxes. However, people are unique, so cutting different programs could make things worse for some. Funding for UBI raises concerns about the cost of the program, but if people currently below the poverty line had an adequate amount of money, they could spend more, thereby contributing to the economy (Parijs, 2004 ). Social Welfare in Canada highlights various political ideologies and their relationship to social well-being. An ideology linked to universal basic income is a social democratic political ideology. Social democrats believe that social inequalities are ineffective for society and that everyone should have equal opportunities to.