The Ontario government is launching a three-year basic income pilot program this year in Lindsay, as well as in Thunder Bay and Hamilton.
The program, called the Ontario Basic Income Pilot (OBIP), will assess how a basic income can expand opportunities and job prospects of those living on low incomes, while providing greater security for them and their families.
Three regions will take part in the study. Pilots will begin in late spring in Hamilton, including Brantford and Brant County, as well asin Thunder Bay and the surrounding area. The third pilot will begin in Lindsay by this fall.
The locations were selected so that the pilot can study outcomes in urban, rural and mixed urban/rural areas. The regions were also assessed for their economic need, demographics, and access to local resources and services.
OBIP will ensure that eligible participants receive:
- Up to $16,989 per year for a single person, less 50 per cent of any earned income
- Up to $24,027 per year for a couple, less 50 per cent of any earned income
- Up to an additional $6,000 per year for a person with a disability.
A basic income supports people to begin or continue working, or to further their education. Participants in the pilot will be able to increase their total income by combining a basic income with 50 cents from every dollar they earn at work.
VIDEO: A Basic Income Pilot
Through the pilot, people who earn less than the basic income amount through employment will receive regular payments to help them better afford basic needs such as housing and food.
Ontario is also in the early stages of planning a separate, parallel First Nations Basic Income Pilot, co-created and designed with First Nations partners.
The design of the pilot project was based on advice received from a November 2015 report delivered to the Ontario government by Hugh Segal as well as province-wide consultations.
The three test regions will host 4,000 participants eligible to receive a basic income payment, between the ages of 18 to 64. Participation in the pilot will be voluntary, and participants can opt out at any time.
By late spring, people in Hamilton and Thunder Bay will begin receiving information about the pilot and how to participate. People living in Lindsay will receive information in the fall of 2017.
To ensure the outcomes from the pilot project are scientifically valid, eligible people will be randomly chosen to receive the basic income or to be part of a control group who don’t receive it.
Ontario is one of a number of places, including Finland, Kenya and the Netherlands, that have launched or are considering a basic income program.
For details on the pilot, visit www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-basic-income-pilot.
