Robin Nobleman
Income Security Advocacy Centre
Staff lawyer at the Income Security Advocacy Centre.
Connected Scandals
On August 13, 2026 the Ford government amended the Ontario Works and ODSP regulations so that people without legal status in Canada are ineligible for social assistance, after a tribunal ruled in favour of a man whose temporary work permit had expired decades earlier.
Told the Toronto Star that the change is narrower in practice than it was presented: most people without status and most permit holders were already ineligible for social assistance. "Before the rules changed, they were not eligible for social assistance. After the rules changed, they are still not able to access social assistance." What the old rules contained were exceptions for edge cases — failed refugee claimants who cannot be deported, and people with pending permanent residency applications — and those are what the amendment closes.