Commentary When a government wants to make a radical or controversial policy shift, it rarely will dive right into it. It will test the waters of public support using legislative tools to float trial balloons while maintaining the illusion that it has a degree of separation from the proponent of the policy. The federal government is doing this right now as they try to lay the groundwork and build public support for a universal basic income (UBI) scheme. Almost 80 percent of the delegates at the Liberal Party of Canada’s policy convention in April 2021 voted in favour of establishing a UBI plan. The party clearly wants that policy, but they still aren’t sure how they will get there. That’s why we are seeing the trial balloons. The Liberals first tested the waters of a UBI scheme with Bill C-273, which Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz tabled as a private members’ …