Laura Cattari Photo credit: Roy Pollington
Today, I'm sitting down with Laura Cattari, senior policy analyst at the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR) to discuss Doug Ford's cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot (OBIP) and the class action lawsuit launched by pilot participants.
The OBIP, designed to be a three-year pilot, was initiated under the Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne.
The goal of the pilot was to determine whether a basic income would improve the social determinants of health for people living below the poverty line.
Conservative Doug Ford promised, during the 2018 campaign, that if elected Premier he would let the OBIP complete its three-year term.
Applicants were reluctant to sign up for the OBIP because they didn’t believe a Conservative provincial government would let the pilot run its course. Ending the OBIP early would be problematic for folks because that would leave them without an income while they scrambled to re-apply for Ontario Disability Support Payments (ODSP), Ontario Works (OW) or to apply for new jobs after having given up employment to return to post-secondary school, start their own business or just work one job — rather than two, three or four — to make more time for their families or volunteering.
The pilot launched in April 2017 with applications being accepted well into the spring of 2018.
A total of 4,001 participants in Hamilton, Lindsay, Thunder Bay and the surrounding areas participated in the pilot.
Close to 2,000 people were part of a control group that would provide information about the effects of doing nothing to help those living below the poverty line.
Essentially, folks in the control group were receiving ODSP payments of about $1,200 per month, OW payments at just over $600 per month or working multiple jobs that did not raise them above the poverty line.
The Official Poverty Line in Canada for a family of two adults and two children is averaged at $37,542 (2023). That amount is cut in half for individuals living on their own.
Those most at risk of living in poverty are single women, single men, racialized folks and folks with disabilities.
In exchange for regularly completing surveys and opening their lives up to researchers, those receiving OBIP payments were excluded from receiving any form of social services with the exception of medical coverage for former ODSP and OW recipients.
Participants in the OBIP received up to $17,000 per year for singles, $24,000 annually for couples and an additional $6,000 per year for persons with a disability.
The control group received a $50 honorarium per completed survey.
On July 31, 2018 – just two months into their mandate – the Ford government cancelled the OBIP and immediately shut down the official government collection of qualitative and quantitative data.
After public outcry, the Ford government gave OBIP recipients an eight-month reprieve with the last payments being sent out March 25, 2019.
On August 27, 2018, lawyer, social worker and City of Kawartha Lakes councillor, Mike Perry, filed a notice of action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of plaintiffs Dana Bowman, Grace Marie Doyle Hillion, Susan Lindsay and Tracey Mechefsk. Perry worked pro bono.
The notice claimed, "anticipatory breach of contract, negligence, and misfeasance in public office.” The documents filed also claimed, "the Defendant's decision to cancel the basic income pilot project research study has caused direct, significant harm to the Plaintiffs and all members of the intended class, which the Defendant could reasonably have foreseen."
Then, in March 2019 a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by Stephen Moreau and Kaley Duff of Cavalluzzo LLP seeking $200 million in damages, alleging breach of contract for the early cancellation of the pilot.
Cattari was an OBIP participant. She was working at the time, but qualified for the $6,000 disability payment and was to receive that amount for a full three years.
Cattari is also part of the class action lawsuit.
Make the time to find out the impact cancelling the OBIP had on recipients – many of whom had made long-term commitments based on assurances the pilot would last three years.
Find out why the class action lawsuit is based on breach of contract and why it’s so significant that on March 4, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court certified the class action. A copy of the Court's decision can be found HERE.
We also discuss ethical questions the lawsuit doesn't address and why these deserve consideration.
And, finally, Cattari discusses the best outcome for the 4,001 folks who are now part of the OBIP class action lawsuit as well as why all Ontarians deserve a Guaranteed Standard of Living (GSL) — aka, basic income.
A reminder that the BIG Forum is taking place May 23rd to 26th in Ottawa.
A first of its kind Canadian forum, Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) has an amazing line up of speakers, contests, movies, books and workshops all centered around advancing a BIG in Canada.
Go to forum2024.ca for all the details about live and in-person events as well as virtual offerings. Registration is open!!!
The list of amazing speakers boasts labour economist Jim Stanford, health economist Evelyn Forget, climate expert Yves-Marie Abraham, as well as community activists Josephine Grey and Paul Taylor.
Disability Benefit advocate Rabia Khedr and former Ontario pilot participant Jessica Topfer, physician Dr. Danielle Martin, and mental health expert Dr. Kwame McKenzie round out the Canadian contingency.
Laura Cattari, senior policy analyst at the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR), OBIP recipient and plaintiff in the class action lawsuit will also be part of a panel.
Leading international expert, Ugo Gentilini, will speak to social protection policies and highlight lessons learned from the use of cash transfers during the pandemic.
An event that you won’t want to miss at the BIG Forum is Living Below the Line. Originally written as a play, Living Below the Line has been transformed into a one-hour film that gives space to the voices of those living in poverty. These folks are living below the poverty line as a direct result of political decisions and policies as well as a lack of political will to implement a BIG.
If you are interested in attending the BIG Forum happening May 23 to 26 register at: https://forum2024.ca/registration/
BIG was organized by Basic Income Canada Network (BICN).
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your continued support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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Laura Cattari deconstructs the Ontario Basic Income Pilot class action lawsuit