Basic Income Class Action

If you were a recipient of the Ontario Basic Income, you might benefit from this Class Action. We encourage you to fill out the form found at the bottom of this page so that we can keep you informed about the case.

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This Class Action is against the Ontario Government, with respect to its decision to cancel the Basic Income Pilot in July 2018. This program was introduced in 2017 with the goal of studying whether granting Ontarians regular, fixed payments—in other words, giving Ontarians a "basic income"—was something that the Government should consider doing in the future.

Approximately 6,000 Ontarians living in Lindsay, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, and their surrounding areas, enrolled in the Pilot. 4,000 of these participants agreed to receive a monthly basic income in exchange for regularly completing surveys and opening their lives up to the researchers.

Approximately one year after the Pilot's introduction, on July 31, 2018, the Ontario Government announced it would be cancelling the Basic Income Pilot early. The final payments were made to participants on March 25, 2019.

This Class Action alleges that the cancellation of the Pilot amounts to a breach of contract, a breach of undertaking, negligence, a public law tort, and/or a breach of s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Statement of Claim seeks damages due to the cancellation of the Pilot, including $200 million in general damages.

COURT DOCUMENTS

The claim against the Ontario Government is contained in a document called the "Amended Statement of Claim", and can be viewed here.

In support of the Plaintiffs’ motion to certify this class action, the Plaintiffs have prepared a Record of evidence. The Record can be viewed below:

The Defendant has responded to the Plaintiffs’ motion with a Record of their own. The record can be found here.

The Parties also filed some additional evidence in a Joint Supplementary Motion Record, which can be found here.

The Plaintiffs rely on written argument in support of their certification motion found here.

The Defendant’s written argument in support of their position can be found here.

The Plaintiffs’ written Reply argument can be found here.

ARE YOU A CLASS MEMBER?

If you were a recipient of Basic Income, please fill in the information below so that we can keep you updated about the case. If you have any questions, please contact one of the lawyers listed above, or contact the firm at 416-964-1115 or by email at BasicIncome@cavalluzzo.com.