Basic income pilot project enrols 400

Ontario has so far enrolled 400 people in the Hamilton and Thunder Bay areas for its basic income pilot project — with half of them single mothers, and two-thirds of participants in low-wage jobs.

In total, the government is hoping to sign up 4,000 participants — 2,000 in Hamilton/ Brantford/Brant County and Thunder Bay — as well as 2,000 in Lindsay, where provincial recruiters will begin next week to enrol low-wage workers and those on social assistance, providing them with stable income through monthly payments on top of a portion of what they earn.

About 30 per cent of the initial group are on social assistance and the rest the working poor “which is really important for us as well, because of the precarious work situation,” said Helena Jaczek, the province’s minister of community and social services.

Peter Milczyn, the minister responsible for poverty reduction, said efforts are being made to sign up participants because the pilot is “such a paradigm shift from what people are used to . . . it really is taking a lot of outreach in the community, a lot of one-on-one answering of questions so people understand what it is they could sign up for.”

He said while half of current participants are single mothers, a quarter are two-parent families with kids. “It’s good that it’s validating our initial suppositions.”

The three-year pilot will be independently assessed by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital and McMaster University. The program provides a single person up to almost $17,000 a year, and a couple $24,027, on top of half of whatever they earn through employment.

The pilot is budgeted to cost $50 million a year. It’s aim is to look at whether guaranteeing a basic income can boost health, education and housing for those on social assistance or earning low wages.