Last Updated: Nov 6, 2014
POLICY BRIEF: ACCESS TO social assistance
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INTRODUCTION
Ontario offers two forms of "social assistance" for residents on Ontario in financial need by providing basic income and support to find employment. Ontario Works (OW) supports low-income individuals and families and Ontario Disabilities Support Program (ODSP) works with people who have disabilities. Both programs are high guarded entitlements that are eligible to citizens and permanent residents, and some people with a refugee or H&C claim that is under review. This brief will focus on how recent changes in immigration policy have affected access to social assistance for refugee claimants and two other vulnerable groups – sponsored family members and mixed status families. Specifically, we will look at the financial assistance provided to low-income immigrants and immigrants with disabilities who are living in Toronto. In Ontario, the maximum OW payment for a single unemployed person is approximately $7,000 a year, which is less than a third of the annual salary of a person with a full-time minimum wage job.1 The social assistance only to cover sliving expenses, like food and housing, for people who can demonstrate financial need. |
Workshop held on June 5, 2014
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IMMIGRATION ELIGIBILITY FOR SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
People are ineligible of OW/ODSP if they are non-status or have precarious status, such as migrant workers, international students, visitors, and other people on temporary permits. Likewise, people who have a removal order issued against them cannot access social assistance. The exceptional cases are at the discretion of the administrator when:
Citizens who are children in mixed status families, with either one or more parent who is non-status or precarious also face barriers to accessing income support through either OW or ODSP, even in cases when they would meet residence and financial (also referred to as “means”) tests.
People are ineligible of OW/ODSP if they are non-status or have precarious status, such as migrant workers, international students, visitors, and other people on temporary permits. Likewise, people who have a removal order issued against them cannot access social assistance. The exceptional cases are at the discretion of the administrator when:
- There are reasons “wholly beyond the control of the person” or the person is unable to leave the country (e.g. medical reasons, cannot obtain travel documents, have legal processes pending, etc.); OR
- The person has filed for permanent residency based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Citizens who are children in mixed status families, with either one or more parent who is non-status or precarious also face barriers to accessing income support through either OW or ODSP, even in cases when they would meet residence and financial (also referred to as “means”) tests.
CASE STUDY
Carla and her three children first came to Canada in 2008, fleeing violence and insecurity in their home country of Mexico. Carla was fleeing an abusive partner who threatened her life and at times the safety of their three children. Soon after arriving in Canada on a tourist visa, Carla applied for refugee status for her self and her children. While her refugee claim was in process, she took a job as a cleaner in small company. Her children enrolled in public schools and they tried to live a normal life while waiting for the decision on their refugee application. LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AND IMPLICATIONS
Bill C-31 Under this Bill, important changes were made to Canada's refugee determination system, which came into effect in December 2012. The changes have made it more difficult to obtain refugee status due to accelerated deadlines, discrimination based on country of origin and past criminality, and bans on denied applicants. This bill also stripped refugee applicants of their access to health care services while their applications were being processed. Some of the key implications include:
Family Reunification Sponsored family members may access social assistance, but it must be paid back by the sponsoring family member within a set time frame. Under the sponsorship agreement, the sponsor undertakes the financial responsibility for the sponsored member for a set period after s/he becomes a permanent residence – 3 years for sponsored partners. Recent changes to the parent and grandparent sponsorship program have raised the minimum household income required to sponsor family members, capped the number of applications offered at first-come first-served basis, and has increased the financial undertaking from 10 to 20 years. This means that if the sponsored family member accesses OW/ODSP within 20 years of gaining permanent residency, the sponsor is required to pay it back. Implications include:
Key Access Barriers Unreasonable Demands for Documentation: Applicants and recipients of OW/ODSB have to show documentation to determine their ongoing eligibility. However, accepted proof of a pending permanent residency decision is difficult to obtain - Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) takes months to acknowledge the receipt of an application and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) does not provide any documentation. Disconnect Between Immigration and Social Assistance: When migrants with an issued removal order report to CBSA, some are threatened with being cut off from social assistance as part of the leverage to leave Canada. For example, people are pressured to participate in the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Program (AVRRP), which accelerates a person's deportation with a cash incentive. |
IMMIGRATION ELIGIBILITY
Non-status or precarious status people are not eligible for OW/ODSP. This includes migrant workers, international students, visitors, and other people on temporary permits. People with a removal order issued against them cannot access social assistance, except when: → There are reasons “wholly beyond the control of the person” or the person is unable to leave the country (e.g. medical reasons, cannot obtain travel documents, have legal processes pending, etc.); OR →The person has filed for permanent residency based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Children in mixed status families who are citizens but have either one or more parent who is non-status or precarious status also face barriers to accessing OW or ODSP, even in cases when they would meet residence and fi nancial (also referred to as “means”) tests. |
Date Updated: June 3, 2014