Why have someone’s income support payments been suspended or cancelled?

General Rule: Payments are cancelled or suspended when Ontario Works’s conditions are not being met. Some examples of when your client might have their benefits suspended or cancelled include:

• They (or a member of their family) have not been meeting their participation requirements 
• They have recently been in custody (even short stays)
• They didn’t provide Ontario Works with up-to-date information
• They were required to provide Ontario Works with additional documentation but didn’t 
• They live with another person or Ontario Works believes they do
• They earned money (e.g., wages, inheritances, other benefits, etc.)

Note: If your client is single and does not support a family on their Ontario Works payments, they will likely have their assistance cancelled if they do not meet the program’s requirements. If they are supporting a family, their benefits may be suspended but not cancelled, or they might be reduced. 

How You Can Help:

• Step 1: If your client’s income support payments have stopped, help them contact their caseworker to see if there is additional information required or steps that can be taken to reinstate their payments.
• Step 2: If your client wants to dispute a suspension or cancellation of benefits, refer them to a legal clinic and make sure they bring their Notice of Decision, if they have it. 
• Step 3: If your client can’t receive legal advice, help them complete a form letter for internal review or draft their own letter. Make sure they submit their request within 30 days from when they received the Notice of Decision about the suspension or cancellation of benefits.
• Step 4: If your client is no longer receiving their income support or is receiving less income support than they usually do, help them make a plan to avoid further civil legal issues, like being evicted for not paying rent, missing support payments or running into debt issues for not paying outstanding bills. If your client will be unable to make these kinds of payments without their income support, you can help them find other funding (e.g., rent bank programs, etc.) or refer them for legal advice before the issues escalate.
• Step 5: If your client’s benefits have been cancelled, you can help them reapply. For more information, see: “How can someone reapply for Ontario Works?”