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If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled, you can contact staff at the Client Services & Information Unit for further assistance. All complaints received are formally recorded and reviewed by management staff. The information you provide will be used to investigate the complaint. You may be contacted by phone for more information.

What happens if I disagree with the outcome of my complaint?
If you are not satisfied with the response to your complaint, you may contact the General Manager’s Office, at 416-397-9682, for a further review.

If you are not satisfied after contacting the General Manager’s Office, you may contact the Office of the Ombudsman, City of Toronto at 416-392-7062, or by email at [email protected]. For more information, visit the website for the Toronto Ombudsman.

You can contact your local office for more information or escalate your complaint above your caseworker and their direct supervisor.

If you’d like to file a complaint about your worker and the way they have conducted themselves professionally you can submit a complaint to the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.

If you wish to make a complaint about the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services itself, you can do so through the Ombudsman of Ontario.

Examples of valid reasons for suspending overpayment recovery include situations where:

• the overpayment balance on an active case is $2.50 or less and the overpayment has not yet been recommended for write off (for more information, please see the Recovery of overpayments section)
• recovery of the overpayment would result in undue hardship (for more information, please see the Overpayments on active cases section)
• the recipient’s only income is the personal needs allowance, or where recovery would result in the recipient’s monthly income from all sources to fall below the amount of the personal needs allowance (for more information, please see the Overpayments on active cases section)
• financial assistance is being deducted and applied to a Support Deduction Notice (SDN) and the amount deducted for the SDN exceeds 10% of the recipient’s budgetary requirements (for more information, please see the Overpayments on active cases section)
• the overpayment is on an inactive Temporary Care Assistance (TCA) case and the adult caregiver is a member of an active social assistance benefit unit (for more information, please see the Temporary Care Assistance overpayments section)
• the overpayment is on an inactive “dependent of dependent” case and the dependent parent is a member of an active social assistance benefit unit (for more information, please see the “Dependent of dependent” overpayments section)
• the overpayment is pending the outcome of bankruptcy proceedings, unless the court has granted permission for recovery to continue (for more information, please see the Bankruptcy section)
• the case is under criminal investigation/court proceedings for fraud and protocol with local authority requires that overpayment recovery be suspended until the outcome of the investigation/court proceedings is known (for more information, please see the Cases of alleged fraud section)
• the overpayment is pending the outcome of a Consumer Proposal (for more information, please see the Negotiated settlements to defer collection activity on inactive cases section)
• the overpayment is under internal review
• the overpayment is under appeal and the Social Benefits Tribunal (SBT) has ordered Interim Assistance to be paid to the recipient

Caseworkers should set a reasonable review date (e.g., one month, three months, etc.) for these overpayments on a case-by-case basis according to the circumstances. At the review, a decision should be made on the appropriate status of the overpayment (e.g., begin collection, maintain as temporarily uncollectible, recommend for write off per the write off criteria in this directive, etc.), and should provide written notice of the decision to the recipient (and spouse, if applicable).

You are covered by OHIP+ if you:

• are 24 years and under
• have OHIP coverage
• are not covered by a private plan

You do not have to enroll or register to access OHIP+ coverage.
OHIP+ coverage will stop on your 25th birthday, or if you become covered by a private plan, but you may qualify for other financial help with prescription drug costs.

You need to combine all your documents into 1 file.

• You can only upload 1 file per field. If you try to upload multiple files in the same field, only 1 (the last one you upload) will be saved.
• File size limit varies depending on the online application you use. If your file is too big, there are ways to reduce its size.

How to combine documents into 1 fileText documents

• Copy the text from all files into a single document.
• If you’re including photos, use the “Insert picture” function instead of copying and pasting.

PDF files
You can combine several PDF files into 1 PDF file.

• If you have Acrobat DC, follow the instructions on Adobe’s website.
• If you don’t have Acrobat DC or similar software, there are websites and apps you can use to combine your PDF files.
  • Make sure to read their terms of service and privacy policy before using these.
  • We can’t guarantee the security of these third-party tools. Use them at your own risk.

Images
You can combine multiple images of your documents into a text document or a PDF file.
When you save a PDF file, select a low resolution (150 DPI or less) or a minimum size setting to keep the document under the file size limit for the online application you use.

• For example, when you select “Save as” with Microsoft Word, an “Optimize” menu appears on the panel to the left of the “Save” button. Select “Minimum size” to get the smaller file size.

With amendments to the Citizenship Act in 2017, the age range to meet language and knowledge requirements was amended from 14-64 to 18-54. This provision is retroactive, therefore, applicants who have not yet been assessed, or are in the process of being assessed for knowledge and language requirements and were 55 years of age or older on the date they signed their application will no longer be required to meet these requirements.
Exception: For applications received before June 11, 2015, applicants 55 years of age or older are automatically waived from meeting language and knowledge requirements. If an applicant turns 55 years of age during processing and before a citizenship officer renders a decision, the citizenship officer must not refuse the application and must apply the automatic waiver under subsection 5(3).

While applicants 55 years of age or older are not required to meet the knowledge of Canada and language requirements, they must still be scheduled to appear for an interview as they must meet other requirements under subsection 5(1) of the Citizenship Act.