Yes, of course! There is always more news about ODSP than could ever be posted on a non-profit, volunteer web site. This page is being dedicated to topics that do not really fit into the other catagories. I suppose you could also call this page an everything else page but really you must agree that Did You Know .. is a much better title.

Did You Know grew out of a desire to provide a place to promote the activities and tribulations of ODSP Recipient's struggling against ODSP decision makers and to bring to light some little know facts about ODSP. My desire to promote recipients efforts led to the creation of a Profile section where we could intorduce the Recipient and share with others their efforts to make ODSP a better place for all. If you know of a recipient who is going that extra mile in sacrifice who has news to share please forward their contact information and I will discuss with them the possibility of their participation. Suggest a Recipient for Profiles

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David is a typical example of what happens when a recipient tries to venture out and find a self employeed avenue to remove himself from ODSP. He has actively resisted to give up and continues to bring to light some of the shortcommings of the logic behind ODSP regulations and practices. For the Profile on David please click here.

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Did You Know ...
ODSP offers recipients who pay thier own hydro costs a DISCRETIONARY BENEFIT FOR LOW-COST ENERGY-CONSERVATION MEASURES and more information on this special benefit is available in the ODSP Policy and Directives Manual under Directive 9.16.

A copy of ODSP Directive 9.16 may br downloaded from the web in Word format at:
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/NR/MCFCS/ODSP/ISDIR/en/9_16.doc

and downloaded in PDF format at:
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/NR/MCFCS/ODSP/ISDIR/en/9_16.pdf

There are Four main points to the directive:

1) Payment may be issued only once to a benefit unit and may not exceed $50.00

2) Recipients are to ensure that the items requested are not being offered free of charge by local utility companies or energy conservation and community agencies.

3) All recipients who own and reside in their principal residences are eligible for the Discretionary Benefit.

4) The benefit may also be issued to recipients who reside in a rental unit where it is clear that the landlord is not responsible for providing the items requested (i.e. fluorescent light bulbs).


This is another very beneficial benefit available to us that has not been promoted by ODSP. While this benefit is expremely limited in that any one benefit unit can only receive a maximum of $50.00 (this is not an annual or re-occuring thing, it is a once in a lifetime (no pun intended) deal.) it will definately save much more than that in hydro savings.

Having concerns about how that little bit of extra money will affect your ODSP entitlement or assistance amounts. How will loans impact on your standing. Thinking of striking out in a new venture to make money and get off ODSP. There are a lot of money issues that can, may and do cause conmplications for ODSP reicipients and the Benefit Unit. Being informed and prepared when entering into dealings with ODSP agents is the best way to avoid big complications. Angela has prepared an article to provide information and some guidance on the topic of Earnings and how they will impact on the ODSP recipient. Her article is available on this site along with downloadable copies in MS Word 97, Adobe PDF and WordPerfect formats.

The College of Denturists of Ontario recently published an article in their Denturists Magazine COLLEGE CONTACT about proper proceedures when providing dentures to ODSP recipients. The College has given permission for the article to be reproduced for easy access by ODSP recipients. The article also includes what dentures are available and pricing structures.

More Did You Know ... entries will be added as time and events allow. If you have any item for a Did You Know entry that you feel might be of interest to other ODSP recipients please forward it to: Suggestion for update to Did You Know