Michelle MacDonald – AFA Committee, June 18, 2026
Good afternoon Chair and Members of Committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
I am here to discuss concerns regarding the City’s use of prepaid payment cards for Ontario
Works recipients and whether this payment method aligns with the principles of
accountability, transparency, and value for money that taxpayers expect from publicly
funded programs.
Let me be clear: this is not a criticism of individuals who rely on Ontario Works. The
program exists to support vulnerable residents and should continue to do so.
My concern is whether sufficient controls exist to protect public funds and maintain
confidence in the integrity of the program.
Ontario Works policy recognizes a variety of government-issued identification documents
as acceptable proof of identity, including passports, birth certificates, driver’s licences,
immigration documents, and Ontario Photo Cards.
These same documents are routinely accepted by financial institutions for the purpose of
opening a bank account. The same recipients are also required to provide proof of financial
info from bank accounts to qualify for benefits.
If an applicant can establish their identity to receive Ontario Works benefits, it is reasonable
to ask why a traditional banking relationship is not being prioritized wherever possible.
Instead, increasing reliance appears to be placed on prepaid debit cards.
Unlike a traditional bank account, these cards raise a number of questions regarding
oversight and accountability. Funds can be accessed through purchases, cash withdrawals,
and transactions occurring outside Hamilton, outside Ontario, and even outside Canada.
This creates an important public policy question:
How does the City ensure that recipients remain eligible and continue to meet residency
requirements if benefits can potentially be accessed anywhere in the world?
What monitoring exists regarding the issuance and use of these cards?
What safeguards are in place to identify suspicious activity, misuse, or potential fraud?
What reporting is available to the City to ensure that public funds are being used for their
intended purpose?
These questions become even more important when viewed in the context of the City’s
ongoing challenges with Ontario Works overpayments and program integrity.
Committee has heard repeatedly about overpayments, recovery challenges, and the need for
stronger oversight.
If the City is serious about reducing waste and improving accountability, then payment
mechanisms should not be exempt from scrutiny.
Every dollar issued improperly is a dollar unavailable to residents who genuinely need
assistance and a dollar that taxpayers are ultimately expected to absorb.
There is also a practical concern for landlords.
Ontario Works includes a shelter component intended to support housing stability. Yet
many landlords require direct payments, certified funds, electronic transfers, or other
payment methods that prepaid cards may not easily accommodate.
If shelter allowances are being issued through a system that creates barriers to paying rent,
then committee should ask whether the delivery mechanism is supporting housing stability
or inadvertently undermining it.
Today I am left to ponder the following questions:
How many Ontario Works recipients currently receive benefits through prepaid cards?
What monitoring occurs regarding the use of those cards?
What controls exist to identify fraud, misuse, or ineligible recipients?
How does the City determine whether benefits accessed outside the jurisdiction remain
consistent with eligibility requirements?
What analysis has been conducted to determine whether prepaid cards represent the
most accountable and cost-effective payment method?
Has the City evaluated whether stronger banking partnerships could reduce risk and
improve accountability?
The public expects compassion, but it also expects stewardship.
Those two objectives are not mutually exclusive.
Strong oversight protects taxpayers, protects program integrity, and protects the long-term
sustainability of Ontario Works itself.
I respectfully ask committee to review this issue through a value-for-money and program-
integrity lens and provide greater transparency regarding the controls currently in place.
Thank you for your time. I welcome any questions.
