Thank you for your interest in the Basic Income movement in Ontario and thank you to those who were able to attend OBINs 2024/25 Annual General Meeting in October. During the AGM, we shared updates and most importantly celebrated the increase in supporters and the newly appointed members to your coordinating team; more hands mean less work and a bigger reach. For more information on the AGM, please visit https://www.obin.ca/agm_2025 to read the reports and see the video from our speakers portion of the meeting.
We hope you will find this newsletter informative and useful. We are sharing ways to provide action, learn about updates with projects and research and also review hopeful basic income news articles.
Thank you to all of the active members who continue to financially support OBIN. A gentle reminder to assist us with $25 annual contribution (or whatever you can afford to give) to cover operational and project costs. You may click here to make a donation.
Wishing you all the best for this holiday season.
Regards,
Kerry Lubrick & Tom Cooper
OBIN Co-Facilitators
ACTIONS for you to consider
ATTEND MEETING in follow up to Second World Summit on Social Development (WSSD2) People’s Report which was launch on Human Rights Day
Would you consider signing an E-petition for implementing a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) demonstration project in PEI?
If yes, please click here House of Commons Petition
Why PEI and not all of Canada? Because PEI has all-party support for a GBI that would reduce poverty from 10% to 2% and cost 40% less than previous basic income models.
Why a Demonstration? Because the social and administrative outcomes of this policy can be studied on a provincial scale, which will support the implementation of a national GBI.
For more information see:
https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/a-brief-history-of-campaign-big-pei/#
HOST A LOCAL SCREENING OF "A Human Picture" – bringing the Basic Income story to life
Few projects capture the human side of Basic Income as powerfully as A Human Picture. The 17-minute documentary follows four participants from Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot — Jessie, Rhonda, Tessa, and Tim — as they share how receiving a guaranteed income provided stability, dignity, and hope. It’s a reminder that behind every policy debate are real people and real stories.
Produced with community screenings in mind, A Human Picture is supported by a thoughtful Screening Toolkit developed by Basic Income NOW and Basic Income Nova Scotia. The toolkit makes it easy for local groups to host their own events, lead meaningful discussions, and connect participants to the broader movement for income security and poverty reduction.
The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction encourages community groups, faith organizations, and educators to host local screenings. The Roundtable can share resources, help organize events, and connect facilitators. Email us to find out more [email protected]
To learn more or download the toolkit, visit ahumanpicture.com
Start calling your Ontario Senators NOW to voice your support of Bill S-206
Bill S-206, is An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income. The Bill, is sponsored and championed by Senator Kim Pate. Please read below "News of Interest". Lets jump start our advocacy by calling on Senators to support this Bill.
UPDATES on research, the class action suit and other
Life on Basic Income: Research from Carleton University
You may have missed it, but a powerful report released last year Life on Basic Income: Stories from Southern Ontario continues to resonate with all of us working for income security and dignity. Written by Mohammad Ferdosi, Tom McDowell, Amy Ma, Kendal David, Rebekah Ederer, and Beth Martin, with a foreword by former Premier Kathleen Wynne, the report was developed through Carleton University with support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.
Building on earlier research that followed Ontario’s short-lived but groundbreaking Basic Income Pilot, the study captures the lived experiences of participants from the Hamilton-Brantford area who received basic income payments before the program was cancelled. Through dozens of interviews, the authors paint a vivid picture of what happens when people have the security to meet their needs without the stigma or hurdles of traditional social assistance systems.
The findings are powerful: participants reported better health, less stress, stronger relationships, and renewed confidence. For many pilot participants, Basic Income helped them regain control and dignity in their lives.
While the pilot may have ended, Life on Basic Income reminds us of what’s possible when we trust people and ensure everyone has the means to live with stability and hope.
Basic Income Class Action update
There’s been some quiet but important progress in the ongoing class action lawsuit launched on behalf of participants in Ontario’s cancelled Basic Income Pilot. The case, led by Cavalluzzo LLP, has now been certified as a class action by the Ontario Superior Court, a key milestone that allows the lawsuit to formally proceed on behalf of roughly 4,000 former pilot participants.
The legal team argues that the Ontario Government’s abrupt cancellation of the pilot in 2018 broke an agreement with participants who had signed up in good faith, many of whom had made life-changing decisions based on the promised three-year program. For many, basic income had offered a rare sense of stability, helping people return to school, pay bills, or improve their health and housing before it was suddenly taken away.
According to Cavalluzzo, the case is currently in the discovery phase, where both sides exchange thousands of documents and evidence, a slow but essential step toward justice. Once discovery is complete, the case will move to a hearing to resolve the core questions: Whether the province entered into a binding agreement with participants, and if so, whether that agreement was breached when the program was cancelled.
The law firm recently confirmed that formal notice of certification will be sent to class members by mail or email in the coming months. While the process is moving slowly, there’s hope that the courts may eventually recognize the harm caused by cancelling the pilot mid-stream, and that participants may one day see accountability and compensation for what was lost.
For updates, visit www.cavalluzzo.com/basicincomeclassaction.
Huronia Transition Homes is championing a guaranteed basic income
Last year we shared information on Huronia Transition Homes project to champion a guaranteed basic income. In a recent update from Haily MacDonald, Executive Director of Huronia Transition Homes, she reports that they have completed the literature review, and also have completed our focus groups with women along with the thematic analysis. “We were very happy with how rich the data was that came from the focus groups. We are in the midst of building our framework”. As this project continues, more information will be shared.
NEWS of interest
Ireland’s basic income scheme for artists to be made permanent in 2026
Recent news from Ireland is, subject to government approval, the government will be making the Basic Income for the Arts pilot (2022) a permanent program in September 2026. This is so exciting as this is all new money for the arts, and a basic income that will support over 2,000 artists, musicians and creative workers..
https://djmag.com/news/irelands-basic-income-scheme-artists-be-made-permanent-2026
Could Canada do something similar? Craig Berggold, Advisor for the Arts with OBIN told the CBC that “We're thrilled. What can I say?” "It's harder and harder for people to not only live, but also to get into the arts."
Read/listen to the full article from CBC.
Here in Canada, the Visual Arts Alliance (VAA) recommended a federal guaranteed basic income program for all Canadians in their 2025 Budget Submission.
A new report states that a Universal basic income program could cut poverty up to 40% in Canada
Read the full article from CBC
Read the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) report on “A Distributional Analysis of a National Guaranteed Basic Income – Update”
Update on Bill S-206, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income
November 6, 2025 in Ottawa, Senators advanced Bill S-206, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income, through second reading and to the committee stage. The Bill, sponsored and championed by Senator Kim Pate, will now be studied at the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance. Find more on the committee and its members here: Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (45th Parliament, 1st Session).
As many will recall, it took a heck of an effort and significant advocacy to get Bill S-206's predecessor in the last Parliament, Bill S-233, to this stage of the parliamentary process, over a much longer timeframe. With this rapid advancement of S-206, and a new composition of the Finance Committee, our movement now has a significant opportunity to present our argument for a national guaranteed livable basic income to a nationwide audience, and to get this Bill passed in the Senate.
Shortly, organizations and individuals will be able to make submissions to the committee on this legislation. We will be sharing information on how to help in the coming month. Let's all step up and meet the moment, and support the advancement of Bill S-206.