Canadian trial for universal basic income

I’m interested in the political idea for an universal basic income and, a couple of months ago, I blogged about the proposal here. Also I’m a believer in evidence-based decision-making including in the sphere of public policy, so I was pleased to see this news:

“The Canadian province of Ontario will launch a trial run of universal basic income with about 4,000 participants this summer, making it the first North American government in decades to test out a policy touted as a panacea to poverty, bloated bureaucracy and the rise of precarious work.

Participants in the three-year, C$150m pilot program will be drawn from the cities of Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay. A randomly selected mail-out will invite applications in the coming months, with participants screened to ensure they are between the ages of 18 and 64 years and living on a low income.

The pilot will include a mix of those who are working in low-paying or precarious jobs and those on social assistance, with participants able to opt out at any point during the three years.”

This is an extract from a news item which you can read in full here.


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