basic income

Saturday March 7, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday March 7, 2020

Did basic income drive people to quit work? Not according to a Mac study of recipients

Three-quarters of people who were employed before joining Ontario’s ill-fated basic income pilot project continued to work while receiving the no-strings-attached monthly stipend, according to a new study.

November 17, 2018

And more than one-third of those low-wage workers were able to move to higher paying and more secure jobs, according to the study by McMaster University researchers being released Wednesday.

The findings shatter the belief among skeptics that basic income discourages people from working. It also appears to contradict the Ford government’s charge that the experiment was “failing” before it was cancelled in July 2018, the report argues.

Based on a survey of 217 former participants in the Hamilton-Brantford area and 40 in-depth interviews, the report also found those receiving basic income had better mental and physical health, fewer hospital emergency visits, more stable housing and an improved sense of well-being.

December 21, 2006

“These findings show that despite its premature cancellation by an incoming government that reneged on its electoral promise to see the pilot through to its end, basic income recipients in the Hamilton-Brantford pilot site benefited in a range of ways,” the report says. “In this sense, the pilot was nothing short of successful.”

The findings are “particularly surprising” since most respondents received basic income for less than 17 months, including nearly one-third who got it for less than 13 months, it adds. The $150 million provincial experiment was expected to last three years.

The report, funded by the Hamilton Community Foundation, McMaster University and the federal Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, acknowledges it can’t fill the research gap created when the project was cancelled.

December 18, 2018

“The results do, however, dispel some of the fears of the opponents of basic income including that it will lead to a wholesale abandonment of paid employment,” it says.

For those who were working before the pilot project, the basic income meant they could take chances on a new job or career, according to the researchers, who conducted a 70-question online survey from January to August last year.

Several respondents became self-employed. Others were able to leave a bad job and search for something better or upgrade their skills. And some used their basic income benefits to spend more time with family members or children who may have special needs, the report says.

Sketch

Respondent James Collura says his $900 monthly basic income benefit gave him the courage to ditch a “dead-end,” part-time job as a bank teller in Hamilton for more “fulfilling” employment at a float-therapy business.

“With basic income, taking a leap from a secure job suddenly became something I was more comfortable with,” he says. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Saturday November 17, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 17, 2018

Ford government’s 1st fiscal update shows Ontario cut deficit to $14.5B

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government says it has cut the province’s deficit by $500 million, bringing the figure down to $14.5 billion in its first few months in office.

June 25, 2018

The change is announced in the government’s Fall Economic Statement for 2018-2019, its first major fiscal update since winning the spring election.

“The fiscal hole is deep,” Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said in presenting the document to the legislature on Thursday afternoon. “The road ahead is not an easy one and will require difficult decisions. Everyone across the province will be required to make sacrifices, without exception.”

The government said it has made progress on cutting the deficit by finding $3.2 billion in efficiencies in operations, including a hiring freeze across the public service.

The belt-tightening measures laid out also include rolling the positions of three independent officers — the environmental commissioner, the child and youth advocate and the French language services commissioner — into the offices of the auditor general or the provincial ombudsman.

Government staff could not say what will happen to those working in the eliminated offices, but Premier Doug Ford has consistently promised that no jobs would be lost as a result of his cost-cutting.

Plans for a French-language university have also been cancelled, though the government could not immediately say how much money the move would save.

Though it is spending less, the government said it is also taking in $2.7 billion less in revenue in the fiscal year — including $1.5 billion attributed to the cancellation of cap and trade.

More than $300,000 in lost revenue is attributed to cancelling planned tax increases, including one that would have raised taxes for small businesses, the document says.

The Tories had said the previous Liberal government left a $15 billion deficit, a figure disputed by critics, who said it includes spending promised by the Liberals but cancelled by the current regime.

While the document mentions returning the province’s budget to balance, it does not spell out how long it will take to achieve that goal. (Source: CTV News) 

 
 

Tuesday September 11, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 11, 2018

Ford plans to invoke notwithstanding clause for first time in province’s history

Premier Doug Ford is taking an unprecedented step, invoking the province’s powers and using the “notwithstanding” clause to override a court decision that shut down his plans to cut the size of Toronto’s city council.

July 28, 2018

For the first time in the province’s history, Ford says he plans to use a rarely reached-for tool in the Charter to allow the cut to 25 wards from 47 for the upcoming election to continue — and warned he will use it more than once if he has to.

He said his government is also appealing a court decision released Monday morning and will resume the legislature this week to reintroduce the bill that forced changes to Toronto’s ongoing election.

“I believe the judge’s decision is deeply concerning and the result is unacceptable to the people of Ontario,” Ford said.

Ford made the announcement at a news conference Monday afternoon just hours after a bombshell ruling that shut down his government’s plans to align city council wards with provincial and federal ridings.

“I was elected,” Ford told reporters, while saying the judge “was appointed.”

The actions of the Ford government were harshly criticized in the ruling by Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba, who said the province’s Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act, infringed Charter rights and deemed it unconstitutional.

The judge called that move “unprecedented” and ruled it “substantially interfered with both the candidate’s and the voter’s right to freedom of expression” guaranteed by the Charter.

In doing so, he ordered an election continue on the basis of 47 wards, returning the campaign to a state before Bill 5 was tabled at Queen’s Park. (Source: Toronto Star)