A single paragraph buried in the Ontario budget could mean big changes in the lives of some of the province’s most impoverished residents by giving them a guaranteed minimum income.
Last month’s provincial document promised a pilot project to test "that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support."
The concept is on the radar of the federal Liberals, too — a Liberal-dominated parliamentary committee called on the Trudeau government to explore the concept of guaranteeing people a minimum income in a pre-budget report tabled Friday.
Proponents say a guaranteed minimum income, which would see families living below the poverty line topped up to a set level, would be more efficient and less costly than administering the existing series of social programs that help low-income residents.
They also say poverty is one of the biggest determinants of health, and a guaranteed minimum income could mean reduced health-care costs.
About 9% of Canadians live in poverty, but the numbers are much higher for single mothers and indigenous communities.
If Ontario’s basic income pilot project is designed correctly, it could help eliminate what some commentators call the "perverse incentives that institutionalize poverty, the idea being that those in poverty could have income security without being discouraged from entering the workforce.
Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the province has not decided which community will be the test site for a basic income guarantee.
