r/OntarioWorks

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Everything is so stressful…. The program hardly helps but is so strict at the same time….

Was just wondering what day next week the payment will be posted to my benefits ? Didn’t know if it was like the 25th or something

Hello there! So this month our transition child benefit which is around 230$ got cancelled with our file moving from Brampton to Mississauga in Ontario and our caseworker changed. The reason mentioned was that we are already receiving Ontario Child Benefit. We genuinely are not receiving any other child benefit as we are on applied status and our Permanent residency application is still on hold. Please guide us about this! Thanks!

Hi can someone tell me why a lot of prescription drugs are NOT covered when Google says that they should be? I almost paid $94 for two of my drugs that my doctors prescribed me all because they sent it to the wrong pharmacy. so as they corrected it once I told them that I was on O.W. it still comes out to $25-27. I Doug ford doing this shit or what?! Because fu@$#@! This is damn ridiculous to me!!! We used to be able to be covered with so much back then...now not so much! like WTF!? Someone please give me ideas on how to handle this? We need to kick him out like yesterday!!!

PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING THIS OCTOBER WHEN YOU VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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“Does Ontario Works provide any funding for back-to-school expenses? I am a single parent with two children, and I haven’t had my appointment with my caseworker yet.”

I just applied (this month) for assistance for the first time in my life and got my first payment. Two days ago, I received a call from someone at OW and was told: "Normally we don't..., but for high-risk individuals we require you to check your documents." Basically, I was asked to bring bank statements, a rental agreement, a citizenship certificate, a SIN number, a driver's license, and everything else.

A bit about myself: highly educated with degrees in accounting, marketing, and video game programming from the world's top 50 colleges and universities. Worked at big organizations for 10+ years, and my last job was with Scotiabank. Went back to college to learn programming again, and after graduation, couldn't find a job in my new career for more than a year now. No police case, not even a parking ticket. Never defaulted on a loan or credit card or anything like that.

I have paid all my taxes in full every year while working. Now I genuinely need assistance, and I feel like I am being treated unfairly, or maybe discriminated against. I personally know people who have abused the system and were never called or never asked to show up with any documents. I don't mind meeting in person or producing documents. But I didn't like the way I was treated over the phone and strongly feel I was unfairly treated based on the phone conversation I had. It felt like the person is giving me money out of her own pockets and she owns me. I didn't like it.

Before I escalate this further and possibly file a court case, I want to know who decides whether a person is "high risk." Is it an automated program? My caseworker, the person I talked to over the phone, or someone else? What exactly does "high risk" mean?

I am not working and have no income. Last month my account was on hold because I didn't submit my income and received my payment 8 days later. Can't have this happen again.

On what day to submit my zero income?

Hi everyone!

I’ve just begun receiving ow last month and this month I’ve received about $100 in e-transfer gift money. I don’t have a caseworker yet so how would I report this?

Thanks

I’m currently receiving Ontario Works and have an overpayment owing.

I’ve been waiting for my ODSP decision since November 2025. If I’m approved at court around December 2026, I understand I may receive retroactive ODSP backpay.

My question is: What happens to my ODSP backpay if I already owe Ontario Works? Will the entire ODSP backpay be applied toward my OW overpayment once approved, or would I receive the backpay directly without it affecting my outstanding balance?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I’d really appreciate hearing how it worked for you.

How long does it usually take to hear back from an audit? I got my first one today and submitted all information within 2hrs of getting the message. I rather know sooner than later if i owe any overpayments or if my benefit will go down etc

I received an overpayment and they’ve taken a bit each month to pay towards it. However I’ll be closing my file as I’ll no longer qualify, this is my last month, so I need to pay back the rest of the overpayment, I messaged my case worker asking how I do so but it’s been over two weeks with no response. How do I pay the overpayment? Who do I send the money to and how do I let them know it’s from me/for my overpayment.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for real-world feedback on Mainframe salaries in Toronto. All experiences are welcome, regardless of the number of years of experience, but I’d particularly appreciate feedback from people with around 3 years of experience.

For context, I’m interested in roles involving technologies such as:

COBOL

JCL

CICS

TSO/ISPF

IBM RDz / Developer for z/OS

Endevor

CICS Web Services

CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG)

IBM MQ

Batch / production management

TWS/OPC or other scheduling tools

ServiceNow / production incident management

Other relevant Mainframe technologies

I’d love to hear from people currently working in Toronto, whatever their experience level.

If you're comfortable sharing, it would be great to know:

Your years of Mainframe experience

Your current salary / salary range

Your main technologies

Whether you work for a bank, insurance company, consulting company, etc.

Permanent employee or contractor

Any other compensation (bonus, benefits, etc.)

I’m mainly trying to get a sense of the actual market salary range in Toronto, rather than just relying on job postings.

Thanks in advance — all feedback is welcome!

Hi guys, so I finally got a job and it starts on monday. The only thing is it requires safety shoes and I don't have money to pay for it right now let alone cover transport to get there until I get paid... I asked my caseworker if there was any benefits I could get to help me keep this job and get off OW but she said they don't provide employment benefits anymore? Is that true because I thought they did?

I noticed the end of the month is a monday but i usually get paid a day early. Do monday payments come in by friday night? Should we be expecting it on the 28th this month?

Social assistance asking for divorce papers after recent separation (May 7)
Hi everyone,
I’m in a stressful situation and hoping someone here might have some advice or has been through something similar.
I recently separated from my partner on May 7. Because of this, I applied for social assistance to help get back on my feet. However, the agency is now asking me to provide divorce papers to prove my separation.
As far as I understand, getting a legal divorce usually takes a lot of time (and often a mandatory one-year separation period in many places), so I don't have—and legally cannot get—divorce papers right now. I am only separated, not yet divorced.
Has anyone dealt with this before?
What kind of alternative documents (like a separation agreement, a signed statutory declaration, or a lease in a new place) do social assistance agencies usually accept when divorce papers aren't possible yet?
Any guidance or tips on how to explain this to my caseworker would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!