The news that the new Government of Ontario has disgracefully decided to scrap the basic income (BI) experiments is incredibly disappointing and short-sighted. Coming on the back of the decision in Finland to not extend the experiments there, this could appear to be a major setback for the global BI agenda.

Moreover, it’s a huge blow for the 4,000 people participating in the pilot who, after a relatively short time, reported numerous positive effects of boosted economic security. Participants are rightly feeling betrayed by a government that only a few months ago — midelection — suggested it would leave the project intact.

The Ontario debacle, painful and unjust as it is, in no way amounts to a fatal blow for our movement. Advocates should acknowledge that setbacks are the predictable risk of playing the political game in the “major leagues.” As such, Ontario may be a battle lost — for now — but it equally represents a chance to reflect on the wider war. It is an opportunity we should grasp to hone our political strategies on multiple front lines.

In the spirit of rallying the troops for the upcoming fight, we offer several positive reflections against the backdrop of despair.

For starters, opposition from the new government has been telling in its shallowness. Minister Lisa Macleod didn’t offer any facts for the decision, promising these would be provided at some point in the future. This is important to stress — the decision hasn’t been taken on the basis of the pilot’s work; rather this is an ideological decision.

If it had been made because the pilot was failing in its objectives or causing harm to participants, then we would be in a difficult position, but this is not the case. Moreover, the promise to provide relevant evidence ad hoc sometime in the near future is laughable — where is that evidence supposed to come from, now that the project is canned?

The Ontario project already revealed tangible results that are not going to disappear overnight, as MacLeod and Premier Doug Ford are already finding out. The pilots have been driven by an inspiring response from civic society. Groups such as the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction have ensured that this hasn’t just been an academic exercise but rather a societal response to inequality.

Numerous local groups across Canada have either embraced it as part of their agenda or have emerged specifically to advocate for BI, with the Basic Income Canada Network co-ordinating information and resources. This civic movement will not be silenced by ideological decisions or overtaken by a return to the failed policies the government favours — just look at the powerful images being documented in the Humans of Basic Income project.

The global movement for BI is a growing one. Around the world several pilot projects have started, while others are in advanced planning stage. The Ford government is rowing against a strong tide. For those working toward a progressive social innovation that guarantees each citizen a minimum floor of decent existence, Ontario offers critical insights in the practical and political challenges that BI experimentation brings with it.

Drawing lessons from the Ontario experience will allow us to pre-empt some problems and devise targeted solutions to address others. We owe the many people involved in making the Ontario project a reality a debt of gratitude.

The creation of the pilots in and of itself is an invaluable learning opportunity. Even now the Ontario pilot helps to shape the work underway to design experiments in Scotland, the U.S., the Netherlands and elsewhere — a sign of the continued impact of Ontario.

Political resistance is not a novel challenge for the Basic Income movement, but one we’re increasingly adept at meeting. One battle may be lost for now, but the war for a better, fairer and more secure future continues unabated.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Jamie Cooke is head of RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) Scotland.Jurgen De Wispelaere is a policy research fellow at the Institute for Policy Research (University of Bath).

Read more about: