Glossary
Earnings exemptions are the rules that let you earn some money without Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program reducing the amount they give you by the full amount you earn.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Long‑term care
Elder abuse happens when someone limits or controls an older person’s rights and freedoms. The person often becomes afraid and thinks that they can no longer make their own choices.
Abusers are often people who the person trusts. Abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, or financial. It can also be abuse if a person is neglected. Neglect happens when someone agrees to provide care to an older adult but does not look after their basic needs.
All abuse is wrong and is not the fault of the person who’s abused. But not all abuse is a crime. For example, if a caregiver tells someone they’re worthless, that’s abuse, not a crime. If a caregiver hits an older adult, that’s a crime.
An election is a choice that is given to the Crown, or an accused person when there is an allegation of a serious crime.
A Crown election happens when you are charged with a hybrid offence. The Crown will elect to prosecute your case summarily, or by indictment.
If you are charged with an indictable offence, or a hybrid offence that the Crown is prosecuting by indictment, you have an election to make. You can choose to have your trial in the:
- Ontario Court of Justice before a judge,
- Superior Court of Justice before a judge, or
- Superior Court of Justice before a judge and jury.
Making this choice is referred to as making an election. If you elect to have your trial in the Superior Court of Justice you can also choose to have a preliminary hearing in the Ontario Court of Justice.
The Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides the minimum standards for most employees working in Ontario. The ESA sets out the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers in most Ontario workplaces.
In Family Law
An endorsement is the written directions a judge gives you and your partner that says what you must do or not do. It is usually handwritten and put in your court file.
To make an endorsement into a court order, you or your partner prepare a document, called a draft order, that you both sign. You must do this if you want an order that is enforceable. This means the court can order you or your partner to do what the court order says. Sometimes the court clerk prepares the draft order.
An enforcement office is a place responsible for making sure court orders are followed. For example, they may help garnish the wages or bank accounts of a person who owes money.
Enforcing your judgment is when you take steps to get what is owed to you because of a court order. For example, it may include damages or personal property that the debtor owes you.
In Family Law, Wills and Powers of Attorney
An equalization payment is money one married partner can sometimes get from the other partner after they separate or the other partner dies. Its purpose is to share the amount that the couple’s property increased in value while they were married.
Common-law partners usually don’t have a right to an equalization payment.
In Debt and Consumer Rights, Tribunals and Courts
Equity is the value of your asset after you subtract how much you owe on it. For example, the equity you have in your house is the amount of money you would get if you sold your house and paid off all your debts on the house, like your mortgage. If your house is worth $200,000, and you have a mortgage of $150,000, the equity you have in your house is $50,000.
In Wills and Powers of Attorney
Your estate is the property you own when you die. This includes real property, which is property like land and buildings. It also includes personal property, such as jewellery, furniture, and bank accounts.
Some property does not become part of your estate because it changes owners as soon as you die. Examples are a home you owned in joint tenancy with another person, or an investment that has a designated beneficiary.
