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Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

During the countdown to the provincial election, Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford often has missed the mark. He has promised billions in new spending, unrealistically coupled with reducing tax revenue and magically balancing the budget. He has failed to grasp the limits on the premier’s authority to fire the head of Hydro One, or opt out of a carbon tax framework. And mounting nomination controversies threaten to engulf the campaign.

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But there’s still an area where the leader hasn’t blundered. According to spokesperson Melissa Lantsman, a PC government would support the guaranteed income pilot project. And Doug Ford hasn’t contradicted her.

Ontario launched a three-year pilot project last April to test a simple idea: If you replace social assistance with a guaranteed basic income, can it lift people out of poverty?

No-strings-attached income allows recipients to work without having their benefits clawed back. Recipients who earn too much, even temporarily, can hit the “welfare wall” – jeopardizing daycare and other subsidies – a significant barrier to getting off social assistance. Guaranteed income also gives recipients the freedom to upgrade their skills without constantly defending their benefits eligibility.