Ontario government defends move to axe basic income pilot project
TORONTO — As anti-poverty advocates denounced the Ontario government’s decision to scrap a basic income pilot project, the province defended the move Wednesday by suggesting the program discouraged participants from finding work.
Though the Progressive Conservatives had promised to preserve the pilot project, Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod said the government reversed course after hearing from ministry staff that the program didn’t help people become “independent contributors to the economy.”
“It really is a disincentive to get people back on track,” she said Wednesday.
“When you’re encouraging people to accept money without strings attached, it really doesn’t send the message that I think our ministry and our government wants to send. We want to get people back on track and be productive members of society where that’s possible.”