People Kept Working, Became Healthier While On Basic Income: Report

Participants in Ontario's prematurely cancelled basic income pilot project were happier, healthier and continued working even though they were receiving money with no-strings attached. That's according to a new report titled Southern Ontario's Basic Income Experience, which was compiled by researchers at McMaster and Ryerson University, in partnership with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. CBC.ca reports: The report shows nearly three-quarters of respondents who were working when the pilot project began kept at it despite receiving basic income. That finding appears to contradict the criticism some levelled at the project, saying it would sap people's motivation to stay in the workforce or seek employment. The three-year, $150-million program was scrapped by Ontario's PC government in July. At the time, then-social services minister Lisa MacLeod, said the decision was made because the program was failing to help people become "independent contributors to the economy."

Its findings are the result of a 70-question, anonymous online survey made available to basic income recipients in Hamilton, Brantford and Brant County. A total of 217 former recipients participated, according to the report. Forty in-depth interviews with participants were also completed in July 2019. Nearly 80 percent of respondents reported better overall health while taking part in the program. More than half said they were using less tobacco and 48 per cent said they were drinking less. When it came to mental health, 83 percent of those surveyed described feeling stressed or anxious less often and 81 percent said they felt more self-confident. An improved diet, better housing security and less-frequent hospital visits were other outcomes respondents pointed to, along with 66 percent who said they formed better relationships with family members. Unfortunately, when the pilot was canceled almost all survey respondents said it "forced them to place on hold or abandon certain life plans."

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