Addition: just noticed that it’s a double-post (sorry), you’ll find a thread on this topic already here: https://lemmy.ca/post/17890643
The Ontario basic income pilot project (OBI) was launched by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government in 2017 — in Lindsay, Hamilton and Thunder Bay — with the goal of learning how a basic income would affect people’s well-being over a three-year period.
It was axed in the summer the following year, shortly after the Conservatives under Premier Doug Ford came into power.
Since the pilot project ended, the cost of living has continued to climb across Ontario and more people are relying on food banks.
Ontario has indicated it won’t appeal the court’s decision to certify the lawsuit. That means the case has entered the second stage — the common issues trial.
Tracey Mechefske, who goes by Willow, is one of the designated plaintiffs in the class action. She participated in the OBI in Lindsay and said it allowed her to start a skin-care business, Raventree Naturals.
For her, participating in the lawsuit has been a way to channel her anger “in a positive way.”
In the years it’s taken for the lawsuit to be certified, “We’ve had people die by suicide because they were going to be forced back into this hole that they couldn’t get out of,” Mechefske said.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Crosson is just one of the thousands of people impacted after the province scrapped the basic income pilot project (OBI) nearly six years ago.
“When I was on the OBI, I got to go and get a steak for $10 and have that for dinner once a month,” said Crosson, who participated in the program in Thunder Bay and now lives in Toronto for better access to medical care.
The pilot project was launched by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government in 2017 — in Lindsay, Hamilton and Thunder Bay — with the goal of learning how a basic income would affect people’s well-being over a three-year period.
The Thunder Bay resident said the OBI helped him get into a better apartment and invest more time into his volunteer organization, StandUp4Cleanup, which he launched while in recovery from alcoholism.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said, "Future increases for ODSP are now tied to inflation and will occur each July, helping recipients to keep pace with the rising costs of life’s essentials.
MacKinnon and other anti-poverty advocates feel hopeful about the basic income bills, especially given the longer lineups at food banks and soup kitchens in recent years.
The original article contains 1,026 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 82%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!