Hamilton councillors urge federal government to consider creating basic income support program

Thespec.com
June 15, 2023
Kevin Werner

Ever since Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government cancelled the basic income pilot project soon after assuming office in 2018, Hamilton officials and advocates had been hoping to get the program reinstated.

At the June 7 council meeting, Flamborough Coun. Ted McMeekin, a former Liberal MPP at the time who promoted the project under former Premier Kathleen Wynne, introduced a motion calling on the provincial and federal governments to create a national Guaranteed Livable Basic Income program.

“I think it is important we think big,” said McMeekin. “We can do something historic. This would change lives. This would save lives.”

The motion -- which Tom Cooper, executive director of Hamilton’s Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, helped to draft, said McMeekin -- was approved 16-0, and directs the mayor to write a letter to various federal and provincial officials requesting all levels of government collaborate to initiate a basic income project across the country. It also urges other provinces and municipalities to advocate for the program.

A 2020 Angus Reid Institute survey revealed that most Canadians across age, income and political affiliation supported a universal basic income of about $30,000.

The Ontario Liberals launched the $150-million basic income project in 2017 and it had been scheduled to operate for three years, providing payments to 4,000 low-income individuals in Hamilton, Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay. But it was cut short by the Progressive Conservatives in 2018.

Single participants received up to $16,989 annually, while couples received up to $24,027, less 50 per cent of any earned income. Statistics released by the previous Liberal government revealed that two-thirds of the participants had a job.

An analysis of Ontario’s basic income trial showed that people with diverse needs reported better personal relationships with friends and family with a basic income. Also, their sense of social inclusion and citizenship improved.

In 2021, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that a guaranteed basic income of $17,000 per individual would cost the government about $88 billion.

And a 2022 report by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, a Halifax-based think tank, stated that providing people with a monthly cheque would allow individuals to meet their individual needs, including food, housing and clothing. It would also reduce inequality, provide some sort of financial stability and encourage savings, but it would also be complicated in how to fund such a program.

“Why cancel the project?” said Stoney Creek Coun. Brad Clark, a former Ontario Progressive Conservative minister. “It made no sense to me to this day. We need to begin the discussion across the country.”

Ancaster Coun. Craig Cassar said poverty exists across the city, not just in the downtown.

“Including in Ward 12,” said Cassar, despite Ancaster’s high average income.

Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann said that when the province eliminated the program, it created “harm” to those individuals receiving the funds.

“It helped transform lives,” she said.

Several other Canadian municipalities have called on the federal government to consider a guaranteed livable basic income program, including in Nova Scotia.

The introduction of the Canada Recovery Benefit, or CERB, during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted renewed discussions about creating a universal basic income program to protect the country’s vulnerable population.