Brigette Honaker  |  December 10, 2019

Category: Legal News

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canada basic income pilot programA Canadian class action claims that Ontario wrongfully cancelled its basic income pilot program two years earlier than scheduled, injuring participants in the process.

Ontario launched their basic income pilot program as an experiment in 2017. The program provided 4,000 low income Canadians with an annual stipend of $13,000 for individuals and $19,000 for couples.

If beneficiaries worked while receiving benefits, they were reportedly required to give 50 percent of their earnings to the government. Participants were also required to opt out of certain social service programs.

The goal of the Canada basic income experiment was to determine whether or not basic annual income programs are more effective than other social programs used by the government.

In the summer of 2018, Ontario announced they would be cancelling the program two years earlier than expected. The cancellation reportedly reflected the province’s attempt to reform their social service programs and “focus resources on more proven approaches.” The cancellation was effective as of March 2019.

After the cancellation, several plaintiffs launched a Canada basic income class action lawsuit against Ontario, claiming that the province wrongfully cancelled the program after assuring participants that payments would last for three years.

According to the Canada basic income class action, plaintiffs Dana Bowman, Grace Marie Doyle Hillion, Susan Lindsay, and Tracey Mechefske all applied for enrollment in the basic income program and were approved for payments.

The plaintiffs reportedly relied on representations that they would receive payments and experienced serious emotional harm when the program was cancelled unexpectedly. They allegedly experienced depression, anxiety, fear, decreased self-worth, panic attacks, manic episodes, and other emotional harm.

When the program was launched, Ontario officials reportedly made repeated statements that the program was guaranteed to last three years and that the participants would receive “a minimum amount of income each year – a basic income, no matter what.”

When these statements were shown to be false, plaintiffs and other consumers were allegedly harmed because their promised payments were denied.

“The Plaintiffs plead, and the fact is, that the Defendant made consistent, clear representations to that effect and, further or in the alternative, that they gave consistent and clear undertakings to that effect and, further or in the alternative, that they made consistent and clear offers to that effect,” the Canada basic income class action lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of people who were enrolled in the basic income pilot program as part of the payment group (received payments until the program cancellation in March 2019).

The Canada basic income class action seeks compensation for the financial damages, general damages, and emotional damages allegedly caused by early program cancellation.

Were you enrolled for Ontario’s basic income pilot program before it was cancelled? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Stephen J. Moreau, Kaley Duff, and Mike Perry of Cavalluzzo LLP.

The Canada Basic Income Class Action Lawsuit is Bowman, et al. v. Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Ontario, Case No. CV-19-00000035-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.

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3 thoughts onOntario Basic Income Class Action Filed After Program Gets Cancelled

  1. Tania says:

    We received the Basic Income Pilot and remember when Doug Ford said that he wasn’t going to touch it before he was elected, and it was the one of the first actions he took in office. We were acutely negatively affected by the abrupt change. it increased the stress levels with the living situation that we were in as that we couldn’t contribute as much as anticipated, and it caused a rift with family and a loss of a lot of things. definitely looking forward to the class action being settled. I

  2. Lisa Clark-Schwass says:

    Add me please odsp doesn’t expect u to live

  3. Steve Bishop says:

    How can you expect the gov’t to give everyone a basic income when they can’t even give the disabled enough to bridge the poverty line? The only ones the government helps are it’s own politicians. They only have to work a few months, and they are set for life…no matter what. Not fair to those that really need the help.

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