'Few but mighty', prayer vigil held for guaranteed livable income

A prayer vigil was held this afternoon in anticipation of the Throne Speech being held in Ottawa tomorrow afternoon, specifically in hopes that a livable income will be talked about for Canadians.

Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd, a reverend at Westworth United Church in Winnipeg organized a prayer vigil that was held this afternoon at 12:30 pm just outside of cabinet minister Dan Vandal's office. 

Shepherd says, "We were few but mighty. There were about 21 of us from various faith traditions that gathered outside the cabinet minister's office."

Different people spoke about the importance of the guaranteed livable income, also known as a universal basic income. This was followed by prayers. 

"We had an Indigenous elder open with a drumming song and prayer. Then Sid Frankl, a professor at the U of M in social work who has done some work on this topic, spoke."

Anyone who wanted to stand with this motion was invited to attend the vigil.

"Reverend Lynda Trono, who is a United Church minister at West Broadway Community Ministry, put a human face on issues of poverty and how this might make a difference for folks she works with," says Shepherd.

There were also people from different religious backgrounds including those of Islamic and Jewish faith. 

She says, "It was powerful for those who were there."

No one from the office of the cabinet minister came out to speak. MP Dan Vandal will be flying to Ottawa shortly for the Throne Speech taking place tomorrow. 

Shepherd says, "The United Church has been working on this for decades. More recently in the spring, the Anglican and Evangelical church of Canada both passed motions with their national church supporting it. United churches across the country have held vigils today at 12:30 pm local time in various constituencies."

This has been a nationally organized effort put forth by various churches, to pray for guaranteed livable income. 

"If people are supportive of this, people can light a candle, take a picture of the candle in their window or wherever it is and then upload it to social media with the hashtag #guaranteedlivableincome."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be giving a Throne Speech to address the realities of the pandemic tomorrow. Afterward, Mr. Trudeau is expected to address the nation in a televised broadcast following the speech in the evening.