On Open Work Permit, Married to Canadian, eligible for ODSP benefit unit?

[Ontariobat]

hello all,

If anyone has a clue, could you please give me some insight on this situation?

I went to school in Canada,graduated, and am on an open work permit currently. I am married to a Canadian citizen and will hopefully be applying for PR soon.

My wife is on ODSP, and I don't think that'll be a problem as far as her sponsoring me.

We talked with the ODSP case worker and we are trying to figure out if I am able to be added to the "benefit unit" on her ODSP cheques like any other spouse would have to be. I realise now how limiting it can be for a spouse as far as income being deducted from my wife's cheques if I make pretty much anything.

What I am wondering is if anyone knows about this type of situation. Will her cheque be increased because of the spouse /benefit unit scenario? Will my income cause her cheque to be deducted (by 50% of my earnings )? Will my income and assests come into play but her not be able to get the increased amount due to having a spouse that would be ineligible for social assistance?

We're both losing sleep over this and hoping she'll get the bump in ODSP support if my working has such a great impact. The program is already a chaotic mess, but if I am ineligible AND my income counts towards offsetting her cheque, then we will essentially have to move in with her parents and never buy anything... :/

Any help would be great, thanks in advance!

 

[Ontariobat]

I found this:

Ontario Disability Support Program - 2.5 Income Support Directives
2.5 - Tourists, Immigrants, Refugees and Deportees
Summary of Policy
Income support may be provided to a person with a disability who is a resident of Ontario. The Director may require information with respect to a person’s status in Canada.

A person under a deportation order, departure order or exclusion order is not eligible for income support unless the Director is satisfied that he/she is unable to leave the country for reasons wholly beyond his/her control.

A tourist or a visitor is not eligible for income support unless he/she has made a claim for refugee protection or an application for permanent resident status.

All applicants/recipients must make reasonable efforts to realize any available financial resource. This includes support from a sponsor under a sponsorship undertaking made under the Immigration Act or the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.1 The Director may require an ODSP applicant/recipient to agree to reimburse Ontario for any income support out of funds paid under a sponsorship agreement.

If an applicant/recipient is living with a defaulting sponsor and the sponsorship agreement is still in effect, income support may be reduced. The reduction in income support is the greater of:

the amount the sponsor is paying to the applicant/recipient, or,
the amount of income support that would otherwise be calculated under section 30 of the ODSP Regulation less the applicable basic needs amount.
Where the sponsored immigrant is living with his/her sponsor (or in a place owned or controlled by the sponsor), a shelter allowance may be paid only where the sponsored immigrant:

has a legal obligation to pay shelter costs (e.g. the sponsored immigrant is a lessee or named as a co-owner on a deed/mortgage), or
satisfies the Director that he/she will not be allowed to remain in the current residence unless he or she pays shelter costs.

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Persons Not Eligible for ODSP Income Support

The following persons are not eligible for income support due to status in Canada:

temporary resident visitors (tourists, students, foreign workers and live-in caregivers) unless they have made a claim for refugee protection or an application for permanent resident status under the Immigration Act or Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
persons against whom a deportation order has been made under the Immigration Act;
persons against whom a departure order or exclusion order under the Immigration Act has become effective *;
persons against whom a removal order has become enforceable under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act *.
Note: A deportee may be eligible for income support if the Director is satisfied that he/she is unable to leave the country, for reasons that are beyond his/her control or has made an application for permanent resident status on humanitarian or compassionate grounds.

Spouse as Visitor

Where a spouse is a visitor, and has not made a claim for refugee status or has not made an application for status as a permanent resident, the conditions of eligibility have not been met. Where a member of the benefit unit is non-compliant with a condition of eligibility, the benefit unit remains the same but the amount of income support is reduced by an amount equal to the income support paid on behalf of the non-compliant member of the benefit unit. Therefore, the portion of social assistance payable to the recipient on behalf of the spouse is reduced.

When the income support for a benefit unit is reduced due to non-compliance, any income received by the non-compliant member is still included in the calculation of assistance for the benefit unit.

It seems to approach answering the questions I have, but I just don't know how it plays out in practice.

I believe that I cannot receive social assistance and thus would be deemed non-compliant.
If that is the case, does anyone know if her benefits would reflect that of a single person (as well as a reduction in anything I make)?

If that is true, would that not mean that we are supposed to live on a budget of a single person on ODSP that works?
I think the very next step for us here is filling for an internal review and eventually/hopefully for interim assistance to able to pay rent while the whole matter is being sorted out.

Alright, I'll stop floundering and see if anyone has any good answers.

 

[Ontariobat]

Just in case someone finds themselves in a similar place in the future. This is how it has turned out.

My wife, who is on ODSP will have her cheque deducted by 50% of whatever net income I make.
Since I have not yet applied for PR, we do not qualify for the "benefit unit" increase.
This is a double whammy because everything you do (including assets you have) has a huge effect on your partner and can tear a relationship apart.

This situation strikes me as extremely unfair to those in a position such as I find myself. I will end up owing half of my wages from the last two years (over $8,000).

Needless to say, I am working on the rest of the PR application as fast as possible now so as to at least be considered as a "benefit unit".