Open Enrollment Sessions
As you know, we’ve moved to open enrollment sessions. The first open enrollment sessions took place last week across the three sites. You can find a full list of the sessions, including the registration links here: www.ontario.ca/basicincome.
Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, will be in Thunder Bay on Dec. 11th to drop in to an enrollment session.
We’d like to let people know that we still have availability for the December sessions and encourage them to register.
Upcoming Sessions
December 11 – Open Enrollment Session
Location: Matawa Building
Address: 233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Hours: 1:00-7:00 p.m.
December 12 – Open Enrollment Session
Location: Matawa Building
Address: 233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Hours: 9:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m.
December 19 – Open Enrollment Session
Location: Matawa Building
Address: 233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Hours: 12:00-6:00 p.m.
December 20 – Open Enrollment Session
Location: Matawa Building
Address: 233 S. Court Street, 2nd Floor
Hours: 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
- As part of the next phase of the study, the Ontario Basic Income Pilot team is moving to an open enrollment process, and making it quick and easy to apply to participate in the pilot.
- Anyone who will be between the ages of 18-62 for the entire duration of the three-year study, who has lived in one of the pilot communities for 12 months or longer, and lives on a low income can apply to the pilot by:
- Attending an in-person enrollment session, details about all the sessions being held can be found on the Pilot website http://ontario.ca/basicincome;
- Requesting an application by emailing [email protected] or phoning 1-844-217-4516.
- There is still plenty of time to apply to participate – the Ontario Basic Income Pilot team will be enrolling people in the pilot into the spring of 2018.
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Questions we received over the last couple of weeks:
- Are OBIP participants subject to garnishment?
We are continually working with local networks on the ground to ensure that the actions we are taking mirror what we are trying to achieve with the pilot.
A big part of what we’re studying is how a basic income interacts with other income supports and systems – it may not work for everyone. And that’s why this is a pilot. The Basic Income Pilot is not a statutory or legislative program and Basic Income payments may not be protected from garnishment.
An important step in the application process is informed consent. In the Informed consent process individuals are walked through what having a basic income would mean for them and how it could affect their current financial situation, so they can decide if they would like to be part of the pilot.
Participation is completely voluntary; people have the choice to be part of the study. If they decide to take part, they have the right to change their minds at any time, for any reason, and stop being part of the pilot and return to social assistance (if they were receiving that previously).
- Please ensure we are taking every precaution to ensure that people are coming off OW and ODSP
As soon as an applicant is selected to participate in the pilot, they are contacted by phone and letter where we remind the participants of their responsibility to withdraw from Social Assistance.
We also work to proactively identify OBIP participants previously on social assistance to try to avoid these overpayments.
- What happens to the Canada Child Benefit when you receive Basic Income?
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) are based on the family’s net household income (Adjusted Family Net Income) from the previous year, and Basic Income payments do affect a family’s AFNI.
This means changes to a family’s household income, including changes in earnings, Basic Income, pensions, etc., may impact their CCB and OCB; however, generally families would be no worse off receiving BI payments, even if it does lower their CCB and OCB amounts.
For example, a family with net household income below $30,000 would not see a reduction in their CCB amount. Between $30,000 and $65,000, the CCB is reduced by a percentage of their income that is above $30,000 depending on the number of children. OCB works in a similar way.
Specific impacts on a family’s CCB and OCB will depend on their circumstances.
- Why does it say that people are eligible if they are between the ages of 18 to 64 on the website but people are being told that they are not eligible if they are 62 or 63?People must be within the eligible age range, which is between the ages of 18-62, for the entire duration of the three-year study. This will help ensure that people receive a basic income and participate for the full duration of the study. This is very important for the evaluation of the Pilot because it provides the evaluators with the most complete information needed to measure the outcomes of a basic income on an individual’s life. We are in the process of ensuring that this is clear and consistent in all of our materials, including the website.
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