Residents of Hamilton, Lindsay and Thunder Bay will be the first Ontarians to receive a guaranteed minimum income as part of a new provincial pilot project.
Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the details of the province's three-year basic income project today in Hamilton.
She said the level of support starts at just under $17,000 a year for single people, and while that isn't extravagant, she says it will make a real difference in people's lives.
The government consulted former senator Hugh Segal for advice on building the pilot project.
Segal said the basic income should replace Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program payments, but be slightly more generous, and it should come with less monitoring and administration than those programs.
The Liberal government announced the pilot project in the 2016 budget.