Page - 156 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE156 a universal basic income.75 One of the centrepieces of the govern- ment’s economic response to the pandemic has been the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). The CERB provides Canadians who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic with a lump sum payment of $2,000 every four weeks.76 This amount is considerably more than some recipients would receive under federal employment insurance or provincial social assistance schemes.77 Observers have noted that it may be difficult for the federal government to revert to the pre-pandemic scheme once the economy re-opens. Many, includ- ing a significant number of senators, see this as an opportunity to institute a universal basic income at the federal level. It is noteworthy that these senators seem intent on leading on this issue rather than reacting, and that they are appealing directly to the people for support for their policy position. Senate committees are currently organizing themselves to review the government’s response to the pandemic and to consider the lon- ger-term social and economic issues raised by COVID-19. Committee review has long been at the centre of the Senate’s work, and some of its reports have proven to be highly influential.78 The Senate’s new- found independence may alter the dynamics of committee review by injecting a less partisan tone into committee deliberations. Senate committees thus have a distinct and important role to play in studying the government’s response to COVID-19. The transition from the old to the new Senate has not been without its challenges.79 Macfarlane reports, for example, that the combined effect of the Senate’s recent independence and the relative “inexperience” of a large number of 75. Art Eggleton & Hugh Segal, “COVID-19 Presents Lessons in How a Guaranteed Basic Income Program Could Work”, Ottawa  Citizen (29 April 2020), online: <ottawacitizen.com/opinion/eggleton-and-segal-covid-19-presents-lessons-in- how-a-guaranteed-basic-income-program-could-work>. 76. “Canada Emergency Response Benefit”, online: Government  of  Canada <www. canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html>. 77. Andrew Coyne, “The CERB is Nothing Like a Basic Income, But it Might be the Platform We Use to Build One”, The  Globe  and  Mail (22 May 2020), online: <www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-cerb-is-nothing-like-a-basic- income-but-it-might-be-the-platform>. 78. See generally CES Franks, “The Canadian Senate in Modern Times” in Serge Joyal, ed, Protecting  Canadian  Democracy:  The  Senate  You  Never  Knew (Montréal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003) 151; Andrea Lawlor & Erin Crandall, “Committee Performance in the Senate of Canada: Some Sobering Analysis for the Chamber of ‘Sober Second Thought’” (2013) 51:4 Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 549. 79. Macfarlane, supra note 69.