Post Strike Update on Ontario Works in Toronto

Welfare offices are now all open.

In the past two days we have seen several problems with people being able to access the Special Diet. If you are having any of these problems, call us immediately.

1.Workers will only issue the Special Diet for August even if your forms were filled out in June or July: This is illegal. The regulations state that you have to be issued the Special Diet for the entire month that the forms are filled out. This means that if your form was filled out on June 30th they have to give you money for all of June and July. If your forms were filled out anytime in July, they have to give you the money for all of July. It doesn't matter that there was a strike and they didn’t process it, they have to give you your money.

2.They have lost your forms that you submitted during the strike:

• a) If you have a copy – Call us. We will fight to get welfare to give you your money.
• b) If you don’t have a copy – call your doctor and hopefully your doctor will have a copy of it. Without a copy, it will be really hard to get your money but we will see what we can do. It is possible that they will find them as people have just gone back to work. In the meantime, make another doctor’s appointment and get new forms so you can at least get the money again.

3.The office is "out of Special Diet forms": They have to give you the forms if you ask for them. Do not go to another office to get them because you have to get them from your own office (some people have been given the run around and told to go all over the city to get forms and it has just been a waste of time). If they say they don’t have them – they have to get them. Give them 1 day and if they still don’t have them call us.