Ontario government faces class action lawsuit for abruptly cancelling basic income program

The Ontario government is facing a class action lawsuit over the cancellation of the province’s basic income pilot project — an abrupt move that some say caused significant emotional and financial harm.

In a statement released Tuesday, Toronto law firm Cavalluzzo LLP said the class action lawsuit, filed by 4,000 people who participated in the project, is seeking damages for the sudden cancellation in July 2018 by the Doug Ford government. The lawsuit is seeking damages of up to $200 million.

Under the pilot project, about 4,000 participants in Hamilton, Lindsay and Thunder Bay earning less than $34,000 received just under $17,000 a year. The amount was reduced by 50 cents for every dollar an individual earned through work, and couples received just over $24,000. People with disabilities received an additional $6,000.

Lawyer Stephen Moreau of Cavalluzzo LLP said the province promised individuals it would provide basic income payments for three years.

“When you make a promise like that, you have to keep it. It’s a contract,” he said.

“The government continues to do business and make contracts as people do. It has no right to change its mind once it has signed a contract. That is what we are criticizing.”

Moreau said the class action gives people who may not be able to afford to appear in court individually access to the justice system.

“The ground was torn out from under my feet”

After Lindsay resident Dana Bowman was selected to participate in the program, she said she was able to buy fresh produce at the local farmers market, rather than eating canned goods and using food banks.

“It was such a relief to be able to wait in line at the grocery store and not have to worry about not having enough,” Bowman said.

Before being selected for the program, she said she was receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits. While she was only receiving ODSP, Bowman said she was going to food banks and buying last-day groceries. She struggled to afford haircuts and laundry.

Lindsay resident Dana Bowman, who participated in the basic income pilot program, said the program changed her life. The class action gives participants a voice, she said. (CBC)

The pilot program has changed her life, she said. With the extra income, she has been able to visit her daughter and grandchildren, who live an hour away, more often.

During those visits, Bowman said she brought food and treats that she bought herself, rather than feeling like “a burden on (her daughter’s) table.”

After the pilot was cancelled, she went back on POSPH and receives about $700 a month, half of what she was receiving under the basic income pilot.

Bowman said she has started surviving again thanks to food banks and buying food the day before. She can no longer afford to visit her daughter and grandchildren as often as she used to.

“The ground was pulled out from under my feet,” she said. “I felt so cheated.”

The Ontario government has no comment on the matter.

CBC Toronto reached out to the premier’s office but did not receive an immediate response.

The project, launched in 2017 to study the impacts of a basic income, was supposed to last three years.

Although there are variations in its implementation, basic income generally describes a policy in which the government provides individuals with unconditional cash transfers to meet basic needs.

At the time of the cancellation, then-Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod said the project was costly and “clearly not the solution for Ontario families.”

During a scrum at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, MacLeod said she was unaware of the class action lawsuit.

“I can only say that at that time we were making some changes to welfare, including increasing rates,” she said.

Asked why the pilot project was cancelled, MacLeod said: “You’ll have to ask Premier Ford.”

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said they could not comment on the case because it is before the courts.

While she was involved in the basic income project, Bowman said she had planned to pursue a university degree in social work. Under ODSP terms at the time, she would have lost her medication coverage if she took out a student loan to complete her degree.

“Basic income removed those barriers for me,” she said.

The class action gives voice to the program’s participants, Bowman said.

“I wasn’t looking to get rich, it’s not free money,” she said. “It’s dignity (and) financial stability.”