A Toronto mother was ordered to return $25K in overpaid social assistance benefits. The city’s ombudsman says she was treated unfairly

Toronto Ombudsman Kwame Addo next to Toronto City Hall. (Addo photo/Juan San Jose)

Toronto’s ombudsman has released a report criticizing the city’s actions after a single mother was ordered to pay back more than $25,000 in excess social assistance benefits amassed over a decade.

Ombudsman Toronto Kwame Addo said the City of Toronto failed to do financial reviews of the woman’s benefits for more than 10 years, despite the expectation that this be done every two years. He says that when the city realized the error it sent the woman a letter informing her of the overpayment “without warning” and then immediately reduced her $963 monthly payment by 10 per cent.

Addo said the resident, who has only been identified as Dina to protect her confidentiality and that of her children, has taken responsibility for about half of the overpaid funds.

However, two subsequent reviews of her case failed to catch and correct errors, resulting in the city making an incorrect claim that she owned the remaining amount.

The report also noted that City of Toronto demanded the repayment of a further $2,400 that the woman did not actually owe. That amount, Addo said, was only reversed after his investigation was launched. He added that he doesn’t believe that the funds owing would have been rescinded had she not lodged a complaint with his office.

‘City didn’t treat Dina fairly:’ Ombudsman

“The city didn’t treat Dina fairly, and that had a real and lasting impact on her,” Addo said in a release.

“She told my office she shut down, stopped functioning and was likely depressed.”

Addo went on to say that decisions made by the City of Toronto impact “real people”

“I’m grateful for her persistence in coming forward – it has forced changes that will better support some of the most vulnerable in our city,” he said.

Gaps revealed

Ombudsman Toronto said the case has revealed gaps in the practices of the city’s Employment and Social Services (TESS) division, especially when it comes to informing clients that their benefits are under review and the lack of response time given before they’re clawed back.

There was also incomplete and confusing information collected in regards to Dina’s benefits, Addo noted, along with poor customer service from the city when attempts were made to explain and clarify the situation.

City accepts 18 recommendations

At any given time, more than 2,000 city staff are handling more than 150,000 social assistance clients annually, the ombudsman noted.

“There are potentially other Dinas out there,” said Addo, who has made 18 recommendations as a result of this investigation, all of which have been accepted by the city.

They include improving financial reviews, communication and related safeguards, and strengthening the division’s processes around overpayments.

“You cannot have a strong public service without accountability. I am glad that TESS leadership has accepted all my recommendations, and we will work with them until they have fixed the problems we identified,” he said.

“(They) will improve processes so that other social assistance clients are treated fairly by the City in similar situations.”