International students, temporary workers and people living in Canada illegally will no longer be eligible for Ontario’s social assistance under new rules that take effect immediately.
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The Ontario government said in a new release that it has amended regulations governing Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), clarifying that provincial financial assistance is reserved for people who are legally authorised to live in Canada and meet the eligibility requirements.
“Our government will always be there for those that need it most, but taxpayer-funded social assistance should not go to people living in Canada illegally,” Ontario Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa said.
Who is no longer eligible?
Ontario has amended regulations under the Ontario Works Act, 1997 and the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 to clarify who can receive the benefits.
Under the new rules, social assistance is not available to:
- People who are in Canada illegally
- People who are temporarily authorised to remain in Canada, including those with student visas, work permits, visitor visas and tourist status
The change affects access to provincial financial assistance. It does not itself cancel a person's visa, study permit or work permit.
Why did Ontario change the rules?
The move follows a recent case involving Ontario Works payments to a person who had remained in Canada after their temporary immigration status expired.
The issue came to light after media reports that the Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal had allowed an individual who had lived in Canada illegally for more than two decades to claim Ontario Works.
The person had entered Canada on a work permit in 1997 but later lost legal status and remained in the country.
The tribunal found that the wording of the existing legislation did not automatically exclude the person because it specifically barred certain categories, including visitors, tourists and people subject to a deportation or enforceable removal order.
The decision prompted Premier Doug Ford to promise a change to the rules.
“Our government will always be there to support people on hard times, but that doesn’t include people living in Canada illegally,” Ford said.
He added:
“If provincial regulations need to be changed to make that crystal clear, we’ll change them.”
The province has now amended the regulations to explicitly exclude people without legal status and those who are only temporarily authorised to remain in Canada.
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