Alongside Mississauga Community Legal Services, ISAC successfully co-represented Ms. M.I. in a fresh hearing, disputing the overpayment of over $95,000. This is the first SBT decision to cite Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2023 ONCA 476, and…
The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) is pleased that the Ontario Divisional Court has found that the Social Benefits Tribunal’s practice of issuing “boilerplate” reasons when denying a reconsideration breaches procedural fairness. In recent years,…
To receive a post-secondary education, students living with disabilities require support and accommodation that costs more than what abled students need. Accordingly, students living with disabilities in Ontario rely on various grants to help finance…
The Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC) was granted intervener status in Jacob v. Canada (Attorney General). This legal challenge concerns workers living with severe disabilities and their exclusion from receiving pandemic benefits. To be considered…
When an Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient turns 65, they may qualify for Old Age Security (OAS) benefits. OAS is a federally administered monthly pension that is available to seniors aged 65 and older…
When a person living with disabilities receives Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) income support, they have a responsibility to pursue other government benefits that they may be eligible for. ODSP may withhold income support to…
A person receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) income support has a duty to report their income, assets, financial situation, and living arrangements to their caseworker. For single recipients living with a disability who require…
When a person is forced to stop working because of their disability, they may struggle to make ends meet. To survive, they often apply for federally administered Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D) benefits and provincially…
ISAC welcomes the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision. The Court removed the new restriction on judicial reviews of exceptional circumstances, if at all. The Court also clarified that the Divisional Court’s new restriction was “unfortunate and unnecessary” and gave “rise to confusion regarding access to judicial review as a remedy in cases where there is a statutory appeal.” The Court confirmed that “judicial review is a discretionary remedy.”
In October 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada heard a case about whether courts should grant sealing orders over court files that contain an individual’s private and sensitive information. ISAC successfully intervened in the case…
In Ontario, if your boss refuses to pay the minimum wage or violates your other employment rights, you can go to court or contact the Ministry of Labour. But can your boss make you sign an agreement to give up that right? ISAC argues that the workers’ right to seek justice in our public institutions cannot be signed away or privatized.
Unfortunately, people on social assistance, especially single mothers sometimes face stereotypes and prejudice. While decision-makers are supposed to act with an open mind and treat people fairly sometimes they fail to do so. The Social…