New Atlas

A new report, from researchers at McMaster University and Ryerson University, has surveyed over 200 participants from a prematurely cancelled basic income experiment that took place in Southern Ontario between 2017 and 2019.

The report suggests participants saw improvements in mental health, housing stability and social relationships, along with less frequent visits to hospitals and doctors that lowered the impact on general health services.

The Lindsay Advocate

For many years I have argued for the need for a well-planned basic income guarantee. For ought not the citizens of a country have a fair claim to a small dividend of the society we have all helped to create?

I have spoken with politicians of all political stripes on this matter over the past few years, including three high-profile federal Conservatives. These three Tories — all of whom were connected to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s governments — were at least open to trying basic income pilots.

The Star

Liberal leadership hopeful Michael Coteau is pledging to reinstate Ontario’s basic income pilot project, which the Ford government cancelled after promising to keep it during the 2018 election campaign.

Coteau, the MPP for Don Valley East, was involved in the pilot project as a cabinet minister in the Wynne government, and said the three-year study put Ontario “ahead of the game” on strategies to offset the effects of poverty.

Hamilton Spectator

In 2017, the proposed Ontario Basic Income Pilot ("OBIP") gave hope to communities that have struggled with rising unemployment rates, housing instability, and poverty.

The program provided 4,000 individuals from cities including Hamilton, Thunder Bay, and Lindsay with a minimum monthly income to pursue continued education, pay for stable housing, support their families, and improve their overall quality of life.

The goal of the pilot was to offer a sustainable solution for poverty reduction and positively contribute to the health and well-being of Ontarians.

Toronto Life

The Ontario Basic Income Pilot was a program initiated by the Wynne Liberals and designed by former Conservative senator Hugh Segal. Each month, the government would give low-income residents a sum of money with no strings attached, then track how they fared.

For Tracey Mechefske (far left), Basic Income was a lifeline. She started a business, improved her diet and enrolled at a local gym. Then, without warning, Ford cancelled the entire program.

Caledon Enterprise

Jim Mulvale, a co-ordinator for the Ontario Basic Income Network, wants to share the stories of a group of 4,000 Ontarians who were part of a government-led income pilot program intended to create a better future that was taken away from them after the 2018 election.

The Caledon East resident believes the stories will share a different tone about the cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot than the government is.

Jamie Morris

Monday, January 28. Outside it’s bitterly cold, winds swirl, and an Alberta Clipper is expected to bring up to 20 cm of snow. In Osgoode Hall’s courtroom number three all is calm and well-ordered. Tiers of dark wood benches line the room below a vaulted ceiling and an elaborate chandelier.

But there’s an air of expectancy: Basic Income is having its long-awaited day in court, and not just any court, but the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The Toronto Star

Ontario Superior Court justices blasted the Ford government Monday for saying participants in the now-cancelled basic income pilot project were wrong to expect the study to run for three years.

Despite signing documents that said they would receive income for “up to” three years, it was not a “guarantee of three years,” government lawyer Christopher Thompson argued before the three-judge panel being asked to overturn the decision to kill the project.

Roderick Benns

An Ontario Court has reserved judgment on the high profile basic income case which was argued by Kawartha Lakes lawyer and social worker Mike Perry in a Toronto court room today.

However, the court also recognized this was a time sensitive matter, given that the program will end as of March, 2019.

Many believe this will be a matter of days, not weeks, before the court rules.

The challenge heard today was the application for the court to overturn the decision to cancel the Ontario Basic Income Pilot. A pending class action lawsuit will only be heard if the court decides not to overturn the Province’s decision and the pilot doesn’t continue.

Roderick Benns

OBIP Chronicles — More than 82 per cent of people who were receiving money through the Ontario Basic Income Pilot said they felt “worried” when they heard it was cancelled and another 76 per cent felt “betrayed.”

More than 1,500 of the 4,000 basic income pilot recipients agreed to help the Basic Income Canada Network and the Ontario Basic Income Network continue working for a basic income. BICN conducted a survey of those people. Well over 400 responses have already come back, representing more than 10 per cent of those receiving basic income in Ontario, allowing us to write this special series. The Lindsay Advocate, working in cooperation with BICN, is pleased to be the media partner highlighting these stories. Names have been changed to protect identities.