Canada needs a standard of living that lets everyone thrive

Monkia Ciolek and Ron Hikel know there's a form of Basic Income that minimizes costs and maximizes the positive behavioural influences while incentivizing greater work effort and earning of income.

Performance artist Monika Ciolek. Photo Credit: Kamila.

On June 7, 2023, the City of Hamilton moved closer providing a better quality of life after city council unanimously voted to support a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI). The motion put forward by Ward 15 Councillor, Ted McMeekin called on Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to implement a national standard of living program.

When contacted by Small Change, McMeekin stated, “The gap between the richest of us and the rest of us is growing. Every person is worthy of dignity and respect.”

Hamilton resident, Monika Ciolek, knows first hand that poverty is a political choice. She also knows what a GLBI can do for people struggling to make ends meet.

For 14 years Ciolek, a single parent of one child, struggled to live on Ontario Works (OW). Frozen since 2018, OW currently provides $1,002 per month to cover rent and all necessities for a lone parent with one child. At $12,024 annually, that’s $15,726 below the low income cut off of $27,750 for a parent with one child.

Ciolek was eligible for Ontario and Canada Child Benefits, but that still often leaves lone parent families below the poverty line.

“I have friends and peers in the community who continue to struggle. Those are the same people who held my hand when we were both applying for basic income. And, they are still in the gutter and here I am not yet free, but not really bound. I’m in an in-between place.” Ciolek told Small Change during a recent interview.

She went on to add, “I feel very grateful to have been part of this work, both as a recipient and contributor. And, that I have been able to work with, and know, such awesome folk who fight daily for social justice.”

Ciolek worked with the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction (HRPR) as well as the Ontario Basic Income Network (OBIN).

As a member of the HRPR Speaker’s Bureau, Ciolek participated in panels that included political scientist, Ron Hikel and economist and University of Manitoba professor, Evelyn Forget.

Hikel was the executive director of the original Mincome project [Basic Income pilot] in Dauphin, Manitoba from 1974 to 1978. The provincial Conservative government of Sterling Lyon, along with the federal Conservative government of Joe Clark, ended the pilot. The unanalysed research data was boxed up and shipped to a warehouse.

Forget discovered the 19,000 boxes 30 years later and analysed the data. The findings overwhelmingly supported providing a universal basic income to Canadians.

Mincome really foreshadowed what would unfold during the Ontario Basic Income (OBI) pilot. Some 40 years later the newly elected Conservative provincial government cancelled the pilot after one year despite making campaign promises to seeing the pilot through to fruition.

Premier Ford provided an eight-month grace period for those receiving OBI payments, but research collection was immediately stopped. No formal analysis was done or reports issued by the Ford government.

However, McMaster University partnered with Toronto Metropolitan University and HRPR to release the report, Southern Ontario’s Basic Income Experience, which proved once again that recipients like Ciolek were healthier, happier and continued working despite receiving OBI.

The pandemic slowed down Ciolek’s GLBI volunteerism, but, “With this motion in Hamilton, I think the more we talk about it, the greater the push. I’m always advocating because it’s important.”

Ciolek explained that initially, she was reluctant to apply to the OBI pilot because she thought she would have to give up the drug benefits provided by OW.

“On OW the drug benefit got you through. Not having enough to eat, not being able to go anywhere, but getting sick! Having those drug benefits is what keeps you in the system. I had this iffy feeling, but thought, what have I got to lose?” said Ciolek.

Fortunately, participants continued receiving the Ontario Drug Benefit throughout the pilot.

But Ciolek was not the only reluctant applicant. There was widespread distrust that the pilot would be cancelled before the three years were up leaving GLBI recipients without an income and scrambling to re-apply for ODSP and OW. Turns out those fears were well founded.

There was also the chance that applicants could be chosen for the control group. Those participants continued receiving OW while actively participating in the research study. That was something Ciolek was willing to do to prove that a basic income helps recipients.

The OBI pilot provided 4,000 participants from Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay with monthly payments based on the number of people in the family and their employment status. Those working either part-time or full-time saw their OBI payments decreased by $0.50 for every dollar earned.

The OBI pilot was testing how a basic income might help people living on low incomes better meet their basic needs by improving food and housing security; lowering stress and anxiety; and improving education, training and employment participation.

Two weeks after applying, Ciolek received her first cheque. She qualified for about $16,989 annually plus $8,334 to $11,000 in Ontario and Canada Child Benefits as well as additional tax benefits for a total of $25,323 to $27,989 a year.

“For the first two weeks I had no idea what to do with this money. I can’t just be frivolous, but how do I not be frivolous because I don’t know how to handle money at this point – at least I didn’t think I did,” shared Ciolek.

Eventually she began filling her cupboards with staples and her fridge with fruits and vegetables.

“I couldn’t believe how much food was in my pantry. I was able to eat healthy. I was able to finally cook and I had no idea that I loved to cook. I really began to enjoy cooking and being able to provide a wholesome meal we could enjoy,” beamed Ciolek

Ciolek replaced her daughter’s furniture with second hand finds. Her daughter began having friends over because there was food in the house. Ciolek was able to buy her father a beer to say thank you for his help over the years.

When Ford cancelled the OBI pilot it didn’t shock the actor and dancer who said it was more of a disappointment.

During the eight-month grace period, Ciolek continued paying her bills, eating well and being involved in life – because on OW you can’t afford to go anywhere.

Ciolek also continued working two jobs and putting money aside for a long-awaited trip to visit family in Poland.

“It’s not that Basic Income funded my trip, but it gave me an opportunity to work and save money to be able to afford that trip. I’m always worried how people perceive that idea,” said Ciolek.

Being on social assistance and being a female artist living in a marginalized neighbourhood, Ciolek experienced a lot of traumas. The OBI payments provided an opportunity for her to work and save while still having a floor she couldn’t fall below. That trip was an immense source of healing for her.

In a recent interview, Political Scientist Ron Hikel maintained, “There is a form of Basic Income operational design that can minimize costs, maximize the positive behavioural influences, and provide the maximum incentive for greater work effort and earning of income. Achieving these benefits requires a payment calculation system capable of tailoring the payment amount to any given family unit, to that family’s financial needs to meet the cost of living for a given payment period.”

Hikel also pointed out that every provincial government is struggling to meet the expanding cost of health care, and that several are actually failing. Using a GLBI program to support the improvement of the nation’s health condition is a central part of the answer.

Tom Cooper, Director of the HRPR, has seen a movement to encourage municipalities to step up and put pressure on senior levels of government.

Cooper believes Hamilton is in a unique position because it’s the largest community in the country to have experienced a basic income pilot program in the last 50 years.

“The stories people told were astounding. Almost everybody benefited from the Basic Income they were receiving. Health improved – both physical and mental. People were eating better. People were able to stabilize their housing. There was more volunteerism. There was the opportunity to not only stay working, but look for better jobs,” said Cooper.

He maintains a GLBI can be the financial foundation that offers recipients peace of mind. However, Cooper says it’s important that a GLBI compliment other programs, like the Ontario Drug Benefit, to create a proactive and supportive system of income security across Canada.

An idea that has been released into the Basic Income ether is establishing an annual GLBI of $20,000 for every eligible Canadian between 18 and 64-years-of-age. That money would cover the basics like shelter, food, and transportation.

Each GLBI recipient could then earn up to $20,000 without facing claw backs or paying taxes. Above that threshold, $1 would be clawed back for every $3 earned.

Once the combined income for an individual surpassed $80,000 annually, then taxation would kick in.

This is a feasible plan given the fact that the Federal Budget Office estimates a GLBI would cost $51 billion compared with CERB at $82 billion.

“I’m non-partisan. I vote based on what I know about the human being and the work that they do. So, when I saw Mayor Horwath and some of the councillors at the City of Hamilton Arts Awards, I made a point of thanking each one for supporting the motion,” said Ciolek.

She went on to say, “Perhaps they had a tiny glimpse into the change that Basic Income can make in peoples’ lives.”

In case you missed the article, It’s unanimous -- Hamilton wants a basic income click here.

Also, just throwing out there that the idea of a GLBI is great but we need to transition to using the term Standard of Living which includes a guaranteed income plus, universal health care, universal dental and eye care, pharmacare, and all of the social safety nets that are needed to raise people out of poverty.

We have the financial (tax) means, we need the political will to put it into action.