Glossary

In Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts

Accommodate means making changes to how things are done so that a person is not treated differently based on their personal characteristics. These characteristics are called protected grounds.

There are 17 protected grounds in Ontario’s Human Rights Code. These include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.

The following groups must provide accommodation: employers, landlords, service providers, unions, and professional associations. But they may not have to if they can prove that the accommodation will cause them undue hardship.

In Employment and Work, Health and Disability, Housing Law, Human Rights, Income Assistance, Tribunals and Courts

Accommodate means making changes to how things are done so that a person is not treated differently based on their personal characteristics. These characteristics are called protected grounds.

There are 17 protected grounds in Ontario’s Human Rights Code. These include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.

The following groups must provide accommodation: employers, landlords, service providers, unions, and professional associations. But they may not have to if they can prove that the accommodation will cause them undue hardship.

In Health and Disability, Income Assistance, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is run by the Canadian government. Employers and workers make contributions to the plan and in certain situations the benefits are paid out to the worker or their family to partially replace their earnings.

These situations can include:

• if a worker becomes disabled and can no longer work 
• if a worker dies
• if a worker retires, or
• if a worker reaches a certain age

You may also get these benefits by credit splitting after a common-law relationship, divorce, or separation, even if you are not a worker.

In Abuse and Family Violence, Abuse of people with disabilities, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Home care, Long‑term care

A caregiver is someone who looks after people who need care, for example, an older adult, a child, or a person with a disability.

Caregivers can be family members, health-care practitioners, friends, paid helpers, or social workers. They work with people in their own homes, retirement homes, long-term care homes, and other health-care settings.

In Health and Disability, Mental health

The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) is an organization that has a legal duty to make sure that children are protected from harm. The government has given them this job. In some places in Ontario, CAS is called Child and Family Services.

In Health and Disability, Mental health

A Community Treatment Order (CTO) is an official order from a doctor that allows a person who has a serious mental disorder to be treated for it while living at home. Without a CTO, that person would be forced to live in a psychiatric facility and be treated there.

In Health and Disability, Income Assistance

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits are for people who:

• have a severe and prolonged disability that prevents them from working regularly or earning more than a limited amount of money
• are under 65 years old
• contributed enough to CPP

In Health and Disability, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits

Workers make contributions to the Canada Pension Plan. If you work for an employer, these are deducted from your pay cheques. Employers also make contributions to the Canada Pension Plan on behalf of their employees.

The amount of your retirement pension or disability benefit is based on a few things, including:

• the amount you contributed to your plan,
• how long you contributed for, and
• the age you retire at.

In Health and Disability, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits

A Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension is a monthly payment that many Canadians get when they retire.

To get a CPP retirement pension, you normally have to have:

• worked in Canada
• made contributions to the CPP

You may also get a CPP retirement pension if you didn’t work in Canada or contribute, but have enough contributions because of a divorce or separation. This can happen if you split your pension contributions with your former partner.

You can get a CPP retirement pension when you’re 65 years old. Or, you can start your CPP retirement pension:

• as early as 60, and get less money each month
• as late as 70, and get more money each month

In Substitute decision‑making, Family Law, Income Assistance, Child tax benefits, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Eligibility, Wills and Powers of Attorney

Decision-making responsibility is the right to make important decisions about how to care for and raise a child. It includes the right to make decisions about the child’s health, education, religion, and important extra-curricular activities. Decision-making responsibility used to be called custody.

The parents can agree to or the court can give:

• one parent all decision-making responsibility,
• 2 or more parents decision-making responsibility, or
• different parents separate responsibilities, for example, one parent makes decisions about the child’s health and another parent makes decisions about the child’s religion.