Ontario Gov't Eliminates 4 Month Retroactive Payment Rule
Ministry
of Community and Social Services (MCSS)
Press Release
May 31, 2006
TORONTO, May 31, 2006 - The McGuinty government has eliminated a rule that limited retroactive payments for Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) applicants, Community and Social Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur announced today.
"We believe that
everyone deserves to be treated with respect, no matter what struggles
they face," said Meilleur. "That's why we moved quickly to change
the rules so that we can help people when they need our help the most."
As part of its plan to restore integrity to Ontario's social assistance
program, the government has eliminated the four month limit on retroactive
ODSP payments. Now, an individual who is approved for ODSP after submitting
an application will receive retroactive payments for the full amount of
time that they have been waiting for approval. Under the previous rule,
this person would only have been eligible for up to four months of retroactive
support.
The announcement builds on previous initiatives to cut the amount of time
it takes to process an application, including investments in new technology
and the hiring of additional staff. It also responds to a major
recommendation made by the provincial Ombudsman in his report released
today.
This is the latest change to bring greater fairness and respect to social
assistance recipients and their families. Other changes include:
- Allowing social
assistance recipients to keep registered education savings plan (RESP)
funds so that their children can get an education and escape the cycle
of poverty
[editor's comment: news flash -- people on social assistance can barely afford to feed their children and/or pay their rent, let alone invest in a savings plan for their children's education!]
- Improving rapid
reinstatement rules to allow recipients who leave ODSP for employment
to return to ODSP at any time, if their job does not work out
[editor's comment: question to the government -- Just where are these JOBS available to people with disabilities?]
- No longer requiring social assistance recipients to place a lien on their home in order to receive social assistance.
"Today's report
from the provincial Ombudsman shows that we are making progress on protecting
our most vulnerable citizens," said Meilleur. "By treating people
with fairness and respect, we are building a stronger Ontario."
[editor's comment: feedback to the
government -- If you're really interested in treating people with fairness
and respect, you should start by increasing the social assistance rates
of people receiving Ontario Works, whose
rates were slashed by 22% some 10 years ago, with an increase of 40%.
And while you're at it, stop clawing back
the National Child Benefit Supplement from 163,000 children in Ontario
whose families are on social assistance! And finally, restore
the Special Diet Supplement! Many Ontarians with disabilities are TIRED
of being pitted as the "deserving"
poor while recipients of Ontario Works -- who most
need your help -- are demonized as the "undeserving"
poor.]
Disponible en français
Ontario’s
most vulnerable are losing out: says Ontario's Ombudsman André
Marin
Ombudsman Ontario
Press Release dd May 31, 2006
Ontario’s
disabled have lost out on disability benefits to the tune of at least
$6 million, as a result of delays in processing their applications
for support by the Ministry of Community and Social Services’ Ontario
Disability Support Program and the impact of a provincial regulation,
which limited retroactive benefit payments to four months. “Thousands
of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens have become losers in a cruelly
insensitive and intensely bureaucratic waiting game” Mr. Marin notes
in his latest report titled “Losing
the Waiting Game.”
The Ontario Disability Support Program provides income support, health and other benefits for people with disabilities who are in financial need. The Ombudsman’s investigation was launched after the office received 71 complaints of delays of up to 10 months at the Ontario Disability Support Program’s Disability Adjudication Unit, which is charged with determining whether or not an applicant for financial support meets the stringent definition of a “person with a disability” as set out in the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997. During the Ombudsman’s investigation, an additional 74 complainants came forward and upon reviewing Ministry statistics it was found that at least 4,630 individuals and probably many more, were affected during the period from April 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005 alone.
To add insult to injury, Mr. Marin found that once an applicant was deemed to be entitled to financial support, they were limited by regulation, to receiving four months of retroactive benefits, regardless of how long it may have taken for the Ministry to process their application and even though the delay was through no fault of their own. Read More
Return to DAWN Ontario index page