1. Understand the rules about living with a spouse
The Ontario Human Rights Commission has released their latest take on mandatory vaccines, passports and testing, here: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/news_centre/ohrc-policy-statement-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-and-proof-vaccine-certificates. In light of this update, and the new directives that the Province released a few weeks ago, we are in the process of updating our covid testing content. Please re-visit the site to access the updated content when it is available.
Question & Answer
Someone is moving in with me. Can this affect my OW?Your spouse can be someone of the same or opposite sex.
If you’re living with someone, Ontario Works (OW) will decide you’re spouses if any of the following are true:
- you tell them that you are
- you’re married to each other
- the law says that the other person must support you or your child
Living together for at least 3 months
OW will also decide you’re spouses if all of the following are true:
- You’ve been living together for at least 3 months. See Step 3.
- One of you supports the other or the two of you are “financially interdependent”. See Step 4.
- You’re “living together as a couple”, not as two single people. This means that your relationship is like a marriage. See Step 5.
OW can decide that the person you’re living with is your spouse, even if one of you is married to or separated from someone else.
