The province’s decision to cancel the basic income pilot project has left a Brantford man feeling bitter and betrayed.

Mike Reibling, 55, said he was caught off-guard by the Progressive Conservative government’s decision in July 2018 to scrap the project early. Now, instead of moving forward with his life, he said he is back where he started prior to enrolling in the project.

“I was on ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) before joining the basic income,” Reibling said. “I was getting more money with basic income and my son really needed braces.

“Everyone knows they cost a lot of money but, with the money I was getting from basic income, I could put down a downpayment and get that underway.”

Reibling was one of about 30 people to attend an information session Wednesday to learn more about a $200-million class-action lawsuit against the provincial government over its early cancellation of the program. The session was held at the Brantford and District Labour Council by lawyers from Cavalluzzo LLP of Toronto.

Reibling said he expected that he would continue to receive the extra money he was getting through the basic income pilot project, which was to run for three years.

In 2017, the previous Liberal government launched the pilot, which gave recipients an annual guaranteed income of up to $17,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples. The PC government cancelled the project following a promise to keep it during the 2018 election campaign. Recipients received their final payments in March.

Reibling, who said he deals with mental-health issues, has found a way to cover what he owes for the braces but is upset with the government’s actions.

“It hasn’t hit me as hard as it hit a lot of others who were part of the program,” he said. “There are a lot of others who are really suffering because of this and for me it’s left a bitter taste.

“I used to be a Tory but not anymore.”

Wednesday’s session gave former participants a chance to learn more about the class action, which was filed in March 2019 by four program participants, and how it could affect them.

In a statement of claim filed earlier this year, the lawyers say the early termination of the basic income payments amount to a breach of contract with the 4,000 participants in Hamilton-Brantford, Lindsay and Thunder Bay. It also states people who were receiving payments will suffer damage as a result of the project’s cancellation.

A motion for certification of the class action is scheduled for June 2020.

The session in Brantford was one of three held by the law firm.

“We had well over 100 basic income recipients, families and supporters come out to the three sessions, which we feel is a very high turnout,” said lawyer Stephen Moreau. “I think the meetings were very productive.

“People need as much clarity as possible and this is their class action and they have a right to know what is going on.”

Many of the participants asked questions about the process and some, following the meeting, shared details of how the program’s cancellation has affected them.

“I would say that the stories that were told were heartbreaking,” Moreau said. “The loss of the program continues to have a devastating impact on many people in Brantford and Hamilton and other areas as well.

“The concerns expressed about what happened were genuine and the desire for justice I think as strong as ever.”

The Basic Income Canada Network and the Ontario Basic Income Network earlier this year released a report on the program’s initial effects on 425 of the pilot participants.

Survey results detailed the pilot’s benefits, with participants reporting less anxiety and depression, a greater ability to put gas in the car or buy bus tickets for work, and fewer health problems.

For more information about the class action visit www.cavalluzzo.com/basicincomeclassaction .

Vball@postmedia.com

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