TORONTO - Ontario is looking for a third-party adviser to help with its problem-plagued rollout of a new system responsible for social assistance payments.
The $240-million Social Assistance Management System erroneously queued up $20 million in welfare and disability support overpayments in December.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents caseworkers, and the opposition parties say others who depend on social assistance got far less than normal or didn't get any payment at all.
Community and Social Services Minister Helena Jaczek has visited disability support and welfare offices and in a letter she sent to workers today says she heard their concerns and saw first-hand the challenges with the new system.
OPSEU has launched a court challenge over the system, alleging it has "introduced chaos" into social assistance payments, harming some of Ontario's most vulnerable residents.
As a result of challenges with the new system, the government says it is delaying the implementation of a new employment-related benefit from April to October.
