Ontario Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Cancelled Basic Income Program

A courthouse of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on Jan. 29, 2020. The Canadian Press/Colin Perkel

A $200 million class action lawsuit has been filed against the Ontario government over its cancellation of a basic income trial program.

The trial program was started in 2017 when the NDP was in power, and it was expected to run for three years. There were about 4,000 people registered to participate in the Thunder Bay, Hamilton, and Lindsay areas.

Single participants were to receive $16,989 annually while a couple was given $24,027.

However, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government cancelled the program after coming to power in 2018.

“The research project had an extraordinary cost for Ontario taxpayers which, according to the Ministry of Finance, would require increasing the HST from 13 percent to 20 percent if implemented across the province,” the Ontario government said at the time.

The participants in the program involved in the class action lawsuit argue cancelling the program before the three-year mark was a breach of contract.

The lawsuit was filed by the Toronto-based law firm Cavalluzzo who said the case was certified as a class action in a decision on March 4, which was published on the firm’s website.

The province had argued that each claim should be assessed individually, saying that some included in the class action may have not been eligible for a basic income for all three years, according to a court document on Cavalluzzo’s website.

“Ontario also argues that eligibility goes to the question of breach since Ontario cannot be found to have breached a contract with someone who was no longer eligible to receive payments,” the document said.

Judge Stephen Bale said that it would be a “routine matter” to determine the eligibility of class action members if the case was successful. He wrote that he disagreed with the province’s proposal that all 4,000 applicants take their cases to small claims court.

“Ontario has not explained how the Small Claims Court in this region would manage the addition of 4,000 claims to its docket,” he said, adding it could be too expensive for individuals to pursue the actions individually.

“Members of this class are vulnerable members of an impoverished group, who would be unable to afford litigation against the Province of Ontario,” he wrote.

A spokesperson for the government of Ontario told The Epoch Times in an email that it would be “inappropriate to comment” on the case as it is currently in the appeal process.

The email said that the government has been enhancing social programs, such as the Ontario Disability Support Program.

Government Basic Income Program

An NDP MP and a senator have each introduced legislation for a universal basic income in Parliament.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux told a Senate hearing on Oct. 17 that a basic income scheme would come at the cost of a considerable portion of the middle class.

“Obviously, if you want to create a program of this scale at zero cost, you need losers. Yet the losers would mostly be found in the top 60 percent of income earners, which I believe includes a good portion of the middle class,” he said.

A 2021 report by Mr. Giroux estimated a basic income program would cost $85 billion in 2021–2022, with that number rising to $93 billion in 2025–2026.

Jennifer Cowan and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.