Jagmeet Singh says feds should take over Ontario basic income pilot scrapped by Ford

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling on the federal government to pick up the tab to continue a basic income pilot project scrapped by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

The $150-million, three-year project was initiated by the province’s previous Liberal government.

But Ford announced last summer that his Conservative government will end the project in March, a year ahead of schedule.

READ MORE: 4 Ontario mayors asking feds to take over basic income pilot

Singh says the premature end of the pilot will make it impossible to amass enough data to determine how effective a basic income program could be in lifting Canadians out of poverty.

He says vital information will be lost and it leaves the four-thousand Ontarians involved in the pilot project in the lurch.

The pilot project provides payments to low-income people in a number of communities, including Hamilton, Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay.

WATCH: Lindsay reels after learning the basic income pilot project is cancelled early

1:50 Lindsay reels after learning the basic income pilot project is cancelled early

Single individuals receive up to $16,989 a year while couples receive up to $24,027 – with 50 cents clawed back from the benefit for every dollar earned from a job.

Singh says it’s morally reprehensible to abandon those who made life plans and decisions based on a three-year pilot project.