1. Basic Income Pilot Presented by Alex de Wit
Executive Director of the Social Development Council of Cornwall and Area

2. Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot
In the 2016 Ontario Budget, the Minister of Finance announced the creation of a Basic Income Pilot Project, to test a new approach to reducing poverty in a sustainable way. The purpose of the pilot is to “test a growing view at home and abroad that a basic income could build on the success of minimum wage policies and increases in child benefits by providing more consistent and predictable support in the context of today’s dynamic labour market.

3. The Province has suggested a pilot project testing how a Basic Income would improve Ontarians' lives and well-being will provide the government with the best evidence on crucial questions, such as:
Can Basic Income policies provide a more efficient, less intrusive, and less stigmatizing way of delivering income support for those now living in poverty?
Can those policies also encourage work, relieve financial and time poverty, and reduce economic marginalization?
Can a Basic Income reduce cost pressures in other areas of government spending, such as healthcare?
Can a basic income strengthen the incentive to work, by responsibly helping those who are working but still living below the poverty line?

4. What might this pilot look like?
Former Senator Hugh Segal's report calls for a program that would end Ontario Works and Ontario Disabilities Work Program payments and replace them with a "modestly more generous basic income," based on 75 per cent of the low-income threshold for those on social assistance, with an additional $500 per month for those with disabilities.
Differences in payments could be:
OW recipient might see his/her annual income increased to nearly $17,000 from & $8400
ODSP recipient  might see his/her income increase to almost $23,000 from $13,500.

5. The Province of Ontario has yet to determine where to run the pilot
The Province of Ontario had been conducting community consultation on the Basic Income Pilot and has completed this portion of the project.
The feedback can be found at:
project-ontario#section-9
However, the Province has not yet confirmed in which communities they will be running theses Pilots but have stated that they will not approach a community that has not expressed any interest.

6. Linking back to Cities Reducing Poverty Charter
Though acting as a Pilot Community for the Basic Income Pilot may or may not be of interest to the City of Cornwall at this time, we feel it is important for City Council to be aware of Basic Income Pilot and the potential positive impact it could have on our community.
In order to best understand the impact of a project such as the Basic Income Pilot, we must first gather up-to-date data for our City as suggested in the Cities Reducing Poverty Charter which was endorsed by City Council on December 12th

7. WE ENVISION: WE BELIEVE: WE VALUE:
Opportunity is in front of us. Across Canada, cities and provinces are uniting to reduce poverty. These cities are knit together in a collaboration called Vibrant Communities Canada – Cities Reducing Poverty. This collaboration of cities rests on five core principles: poverty reduction over poverty alleviation; work comprehensively to address root causes of poverty; build on the existing assets in a community; bring people together from all sectors; and learn together to scale up change.
This collaboration is committed to significantly reducing the human, social and economic costs of poverty. Through a connected learning community of 100 communities, our shared goal is to align our poverty reduction strategies and build collaboration between cities, all provinces and the Federal government resulting in reduced poverty for one million Canadians.
WE ENVISION:
We envision all Canadians collectively committing to action that will significantly reduce and ultimately eliminate poverty in our communities.
We envision a Canada where everyone has access to adequate and affordable housing, income, nutrition, education, and opportunities to participate in community life.
WE BELIEVE:
Poverty can be significantly reduced in Canada.
Poverty is a complex condition involving many social, economic, systemic, physical causes.
Every Canadian benefits when poverty is reduced; therefore, everyone has a role to play in poverty reduction. Communities play a critical role in poverty reduction.
People with lived experience of poverty must play an active role in planning and decision making. The cost of poverty is not only personal; there are social and economic costs to Canada as a whole Reducing poverty is a shared responsibility requiring collective and concrete action.
WE VALUE:
Voice for Everyone:
Every person has the right to live in dignity, make their own decisions in life, and fully participate in society. Policies, systems and solutions must respect and include everyone in the community.
Multi-Sector Collaboration:
Sustainable poverty reduction is best addressed through collaboration across all sectors and includes people with lived experience of poverty to harness diverse perspectives and solutions.
Comprehensive Approach:
Poverty reduction is a long-term process focused on tackling root causes through a strengths based, multi-sector, collective impact approach to planning and change.
Collective Impact:
Information and evidence from available data, community consultations, research, and
effective practices from across Canada informs solutions and communicates impact.

8. AS A NATIONAL NETWORK OF COMMUNITIES, WE COMMIT TO:
Working collaboratively within and across communities, regions, provinces and nationally to reduce poverty. Framing and understanding poverty from a comprehensive perspective.
Increasing awareness about the benefits of poverty reduction on the health and wellbeing of all Canadians. Moving towards aligned poverty reduction policies and strategies at the local, municipal, provincial, federal levels. Tracking common measures, outcomes and indicators to demonstrate our collective impact.
AS A LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THIS NATIONAL NETWORK, WE WILL WORK TOWARDS:
Mapping and leveraging the existing assets of our community. Establishing a multi-sector leadership poverty reduction roundtable. Producing a community wide theory of change for reducing poverty. Developing a community wide poverty reduction strategy.
Creating concrete strategies for implementing the poverty reduction strategy. Framing and understanding poverty from a comprehensive perspective.
Engaging the whole community in implementing innovative solutions and policy changes. Tracking poverty reduction outcomes to demonstrate impact.
Learning alongside and actively participating in the national learning community. Sharing community built knowledge and resources in the online learning community
ENDORSE THE VIBRANT COMMUNITIES CANADA - CITIES REDUCING POVERTY CHARTER:
Supporting the Cities Reducing Poverty Charter demonstrates a commitment to significantly reducing poverty in Canada.
I, , endorse this Charter on behalf of, .
Signature: Date:
Please send a signed copy to so that we can keep the list of communities up to date!
Vibrant Communities Canada – Cities Reducing Poverty is sponsored and administered by Tamarack-An Institute for Community Engagement a registered charity in Canada.
This charter has been adopted by Tamarack’s Board of Directors in 2013.

9. Key Excerpts from the Charter
AS A SIGNITORY OF THE CHARTER THE CITY OF CORNWALL BELIEVES:
Poverty can be significantly reduced in Canada.
Poverty is a complex condition involving many social, economic, systemic, physical causes.
Every Canadian benefits when poverty is reduced; therefore, everyone has a role to play in poverty reduction. Communities play a critical role in poverty reduction.

10. Key Excerpts from the Charter (continued)
Comprehensive Approach:
Poverty reduction is a long-term process focused on tackling root causes through a strengths based, multi-sector,collective impact approach to planning and change.
Collective Impact:
Information and evidence from available data, community consultations, research, andeffective practices from across Canada informs solutions and communicates impact.

11. AS A LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THIS NATIONAL NETWORK, The CITY OF CORNWALL HAS COMMIT TO WORK TOWARDS:
Mapping and leveraging the existing assets of our community.
Establishing a multi-sector leadership poverty reduction roundtable. (such as the SDC’s Poverty Working Group_
Producing a community wide theory of change for reducing poverty.
Developing a community wide poverty reduction strategy.

12. AS A LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THIS NATIONAL NETWORK, The CITY OF CORNWALL HAS COMMIT TO WORK TOWARDS: (continued)
Creating concrete strategies for implementing the poverty reduction strategy.
Framing and understanding poverty from a comprehensive perspective.
Engaging the whole community in implementing innovative solutions and policy changes.
Tracking poverty reduction outcomes to demonstrate impact. (such as unemployment rates, and non-confidential social service statistics)
Sharing community built knowledge and resources in the online learning community