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Glossary

Disability Adjudication Unit

In Income Assistance

The Disability Adjudication Unit (DAU) is part of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).

The DAU decides whether you meet the ODSP definition of a person with a disability.

They do not interview you or give you a medical examination.

They make their decision using the information they get from you and the health professionals who complete forms about your disability.

Disability Determination Package

In Income Assistance

You get a Disability Determination Package when you apply to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and need an approved health professional to give information that proves you’re a “person with a disability”.

The package includes 4 forms:

  • Self Report
  • Consent to Release Medical Information
  • Health Status Report
  • Activities of Daily Living Index

You have to return the completed forms to the Disability Adjudication Unit.

discrimination

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

The law says that you cannot be discriminated against:

  • in employment and housing
  • when you buy or receive items and services
  • when you make a contract
  • by your union or professional association

Discrimination happens when you’re treated unfairly because of protected grounds, also called personal characteristics. Ontario’s Human Rights Code lists 17 protected grounds that include ethnic origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, family status, and disability.

earnings exemptions

In Income Assistance

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.

estate

In Income Assistance, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Eligibility, 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.

evidence

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

Evidence is used to prove that something is true or false. There are different types of evidence, such as information from witnesses, and documents like letters from a doctor. Tribunals look at evidence when making decisions.

federal penitentiary

In Income Assistance

Federal penitentiaries are run by the Government of Canada. They’re also called “correctional institutions”. People serving sentences of 2 years or longer are in these institutions or in halfway houses.

financial assistance

In Employment and Work, Income Assistance

Financial assistance is money you get from Ontario Works (OW) to help pay for living expenses, like housing and food.

It also helps pay for some prescription drugs and may help pay for some dental services. And some people can get:

  • extra money to help pay for a special diet
  • other benefits, such as costs for travelling to medical appointments
Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS)

In Income Assistance

The Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payment is a monthly amount that the Ontario government pays to people who:

Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS)

In Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)

The Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payment is a monthly amount that the Ontario government pays to people who: