Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca announced at the party’s annual general meeting that his government, if elected, would launch a pilot project studying a universal basic income in Ontario and another one studying a four-day work week. In other words, he envisions a province where taxpayers pay more and get less.

The basic income pilot, first launched by former premier Kathleen Wynne, would see eligible Ontarians paid a minimum income by the province no matter their working situation, or lack thereof. In theory, that support would be in lieu of other provincial assistance programs like Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program.

The original basic income pilot was canceled by Premier Doug Ford early on in his mandate, and rightfully so. A universal basic income comes with a staggering net cost to taxpayers, even if all other social assistance programs are repealed in their entirety. If the program were scaled nationwide, for example, it would cost a cool $44 billion a year – the equivalent of a five percentage point sales tax hike.

Suggesting Ontarians want to increase the HST to 18 per cent as we approach the potentially greatest inflationary spike in several decades is laughable. The Ontario Liberals should look no further than their federal cousins who, according to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, are repealing expensive Canada Recovery Benefit programs in favour of more targeted measures as a means of “prudently managing government finances.”

Making matters worse is the potential of a four-day work week. Here, Del Duca has suggested that a pilot project would examine the idea in both the public and private sectors. Multiple models would be considered, including ones where the fifth workday is removed entirely, but take-home pay remains the same, and another model where the standard 40-hour five-day week is turned into a 40-hour four-day week.

Both models have categorical flaws, mainly that the idea cannot be scaled. To Del Duca’s credit, he has acknowledged that this solution will not work for every industry. He knows it will be impossible to convince Ontarians that schools, for example, should shift to four days a week. On the other hand, he has openly suggested the province could use its legislative powers to force this on businesses if the pilot yields positive results.

Imagine telling a publicly-traded company it is legislatively prohibited from opening its doors on a day the stock market is making live judgements about that company’s value.

What about a manufacturing plant that already has three shifts each of eight hours a day? Even if there was a positive bump in productivity, an assembly line will not increase its output if it is closed 20 per cent more often. The idea, in reality, will only apply to government workers. The examples referenced in Iceland and in Ontario’s Zorra Township have only ever trialed the idea on civil servants because governments are not subject to market forces like a traditional business.

Worst of all, the pilot itself is redundant. Ontario is on the brink of a finishing a two-year experiment in reduced work hours thanks to COVID-19. Statistics Canada evaluated the impacts of reduced working hours across every facet of the economy and reached two important conclusions: productivity went up when people worked fewer hours, but the country’s real GDP output fell. Put another way: you work faster but the economy works slower.

If the Liberals really believe in a shortened work week, they could incentivize its adoption through reduced WSIB payments or even corporate income tax deductions for those that adopt the policy, rather than an inflexible mandate.

Ontario needs a plan for economic recovery coming out of the pandemic. Ontario needs to build more, produce more and grow its private industries to make up for lost time and to curb underlying economic risks like inflationary pressures and an unemployment rate that is still well over seven per cent – a rate not seen pre-pandemic since mid-2014.

Just look at Labour, Training and Skills Development Minister Monte McNaughton’s latest legislation for ideas on how to get Ontario back on track.

Removing burdensome Canadian work experience requirements for skilled immigrants to join the profession they are trained in and giving unneeded WSIB money back to small businesses are examples of ways we can get back to work faster and pay less tax. Both ideas help get people working and help kickstart the economic recovery.

The solution to a fragile economy is not working less and paying more. In fact, it’s the opposite: getting back to work and stimulating the economy through lower taxes.

If Del Duca wants the seven-day-a-week job of being premier of Ontario, he’ll need to figure that out sooner rather than later.

Mitchell Davidson is the Executive Director of the StrategyCorp Institute of Public Policy and Economy. Mitchell was formerly the Executive Director of Policy for Premier Doug Ford and the policy lead on both of the Ontario PC Party’s most recent election platforms. You can follow the Institute’s written material or subscribe to its podcast, Intended Consequences, at strategycorp.com/institute/.

Davidson: The Liberals want you to pay more and get less

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