this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
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Stripped of dignity, $22 left after rent β€” stories emerge as Ontario sued for halting basic income pilot (www.cbc.ca)
submitted 8 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
15 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Tracey Crosson says she ate healthier, slept better and had more energy when she was receiving basic income payments from the Ontario government.

Now, she's left with $22 every month after paying rent and relies on Meals on Wheels.

Crosson is just one of the thousands of people impacted after the province scrapped the basic income pilot project (OBI) nearly six years ago. The early cancellation of the program in 2018 is behind a class-action lawsuit that was certified by a Superior Court judge on March 4.

"When I was on the OBI, I got to go and get a steak for $10 and have that for dinner once a month," said Crosson, who participated in the program in Thunder Bay and now lives in Toronto for better access to medical care. "Now, I don't have the luxury for steak and hamburger and all that stuff."

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[–] whereisk@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I understand why journos do it, focusing on an individual's plight. But this is just anecdote - give us some statistical data to support the story, then bring up the individual as representative example.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There are some in the article ...

Number of people using Ontario food banks rose nearly 40% last year: report

A single person on ODSP gets $1,308 a month for basic needs and shelter, or under $16,000 a year. A single person on OW receives $733 a month, amounting to less than $9,000 annually.

The Ontario Living Wage Network calculates the living wage in Thunder Bay at $19.80 an hour. For a person working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, that would equate to an annual income of just below $40,000, not including tax deductions.

[–] whereisk@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but nothing on what the article was focused on - the impact on individuals.

So we have no idea if it hit intended targets, if it improves lives better than other programs or differently etc. How it was used, did it enable people to escape a suffocating circumstances that then allowed them to thrive (a medical procedure, fleeing domestic abuse etc) or put more food on the table like the individual stories it had. Give us some statistical data.

[–] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Because Druggie shut it down after a year (after promising to keep it)... well before any stats could be accumulated.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Basic_Income_Pilot_Project

[–] whereisk@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

That's fucked, sorry, I had no idea.