4. Know what to do if your assets are more than OW allows

Beware of scams

People have been getting phone calls with a pre-recorded message telling them their Ontario Works account has been deleted.

This is a scam to trick you into sharing your personal information. If you get a call like that, hang up the phone. You can report these calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

Ontario Works (OW) can cut off or reduce your if you get that are worth more than what the OW rules say you can have. For example, you might receive a gift or a payment from someone who owes you money.

See the answer to this question for details about the rules and amounts.

OW should not cut off your financial assistance if:

  • you spend the money to buy assets that are “exempt”, which means that OW does not count them, and
  • you buy these assets in the month when you get the money.

See Step 1 for examples of assets that OW does not count.

See Step 2 for rules about getting rid of assets.

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