Other Ways to Apply

You can apply for Ontario Works by phone. The application will take 45 minutes to an hour. Before applying, make sure you have the following information for the application:

• Your current address
• Housing costs
• Lists of expenses (e.g., child care costs)
• Also, for each family of your household, you'll need:
• Date of birth
• Status in Canada (citizen, immigrant, refugee, etc.)
• Total Income
• List of assets and their values
• Social Insurance Numbers and Ontario Health Cards

To apply by phone:

To apply for assistance you can call the provincial centralized intake at 1-888-999-1142.

Available Monday to Friday, 8:30am till 5:00pm, excluding holidays.

Applying if you are Under 18

If you are 16 or 17 years old, you may be able to apply for Ontario Works to help you pay for rent, food and clothing.

A Caseworker must determine if you are eligible for Ontario Works, based on:

• If your parents won't let you live at home, or if you are in danger
• Your parents won't support you financially
• You are willing to go to school or find work.

To speak to a Caseworker and find out if you are eligible:

Call 705-647-7447 if you live in Englehart and South to Timiskaming – Nipissing District border.

Call 705-567-9366 if you live North of Englehart to Timiskaming – Cochrane District border.

Appeal a Decision

If you are not eligible for financial help, you will get a letter. This letter will tell you why your application was not accepted. You can ask for the decision to be reconsidered. This is called an Appeal.

You can appeal if:

• your application wasn't accepted, or
• you are already getting financial help, but you feel you need more money to meet your needs.

To get more information about appeals, visit the Province of Ontario's How to Appeal a Decision Page