Residents of Hamilton, Lindsay, and Thunder Bay will be the first to receive a guaranteed minimum income as part of a new pilot project launched by the provincial government Monday.
The level of support starts at just under $17,000 a year for a single person. Couples will receive up to $24,027 per year while people with disabilities will receive up to an additional $6,000 per year.
Recipients will be able to work. They will keep what they earn, with their basic income payments decreasing by half of that amount.
Premier Kathleen Wynne said the payments aren't extravagant, but added it will make a real difference to a person ``striving to reach for a better life.''
The three-year pilot project will involve as many as 4,000 people in the three communities.
Its goal is to explore the effectiveness of providing a basic income to people who are currently living on low incomes, whether they are working or not.