See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
The Doug Ford government’s decision to change regulations to stop illegal immigrants from collecting welfare is the right one. It doesn’t matter how many people who are in Canada illegally are currently taking Ontario welfare payments, the changes to stop this practice needed to happen.
The move was prompted by a tribunal decision that said a man in the country illegally, who had evaded taxes by working under the table for decades, was still entitled to welfare payments. The ruling took a ridiculous reading of the existing provincial regulations on who was eligible for welfare, potentially leaving the province vulnerable to further abuse.
“Our government will always be there for those that need it most, but taxpayer-funded social assistance should not go to people living in Canada illegally,” Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services said in a statement Thursday .
“These changes will protect taxpayer dollars and ensure these programs are there for the people who they were intended to support.”
Our government will always be there to support people facing hard times, but taxpayer-funded assistance should not go to people living in Canada illegally.
— Michael Parsa (@MichaelParsa) August 13, 2026
Today, we’re strengthening the rules to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure these programs support the people they were… pic.twitter.com/Eex8fla9Sg
Common sense decision attacked by activists and activist media
That’s the right and sensible view, the one supported by the vast majority of people in Ontario, including legal immigrants.
“New Ontario rules limit social assistance to legally eligible residents,” was the headline at RED FM , a multi-ethnic media outlet in Brampton that specifically serves immigrant communities.
Meanwhile, over at the Toronto Star , the change was attacked as an act of racism.
“Ford government accused of xenophobia for going after temporary residents, undocumented migrants on social assistance,” read the headline in the Star .
Before I get into how ridiculous this story from the Star is, can I point out that the minister in charge of this decision that the newspaper calls xenophobic is himself an immigrant from Iran. Michael Parsa came to Canada as a child with his family and is a fiercely proud Canadian, and an immigrant himself.
The story, by the Star ’s senior immigration reporter Nicholas Keung, then went on to speak to a number of activist groups that claimed this policy change was all about racism.
“They are promoting xenophobia,” Luisa Ortiz-Garza told the outlet.
Who is Ortiz-Garza? She’s a community legal worker in the migrants rights division of Parkdale Legal Community Services.
“I think this is just an openly racist policy,” she told the Star .
- LILLEY: Doug Ford’s cautious first steps in securing Ontario’s AI-driven future
- LILLEY: How cost of the Ontario Line went from $10.9B to $34B
Taxpayers paying for these radical activists
It’s interesting that she’s stating the people who pay her bills are xenophobic and racist. Roughly 90% of the funding of Parkdale Legal Community Services comes from Legal Aid Ontario, meaning the Ford government.
If there has ever been a reason to revisit how Legal Aid Ontario distributes money, this case is it.
Rather than funding people who need a lawyer and can’t afford it, Legal Aid Ontario has become a political organization. They are allegedly an “arms length” provincial group, but practically all of their money comes from taxpayers.
That means, we pay for whatever they want to do based on their own political views. It has nothing to do with assisting those in need and everything to do with funding left-wing political causes.
In fact, the case that saw a tribunal decide that illegal immigrants to Canada were eligible for welfare in Ontario was brought forward by a staff lawyer at the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic. This is another organization where close to 90% of the budget comes from Legal Aid Ontario.
The activists funded by Legal Aid then show up in articles in places like the Toronto Star criticizing the government, calling them racist for enacting a common sense policy.
This policy change simply takes things back to the way it was before the tribunal ruling. It takes things back to what the legislature intended when they passed the law.
Welfare is here for Ontarians who need help, it’s not for visitors, tourists or people who have no legal right to be in Canada.