Michael Parsa was appointed Minister of Children, Community and Social Services after the resignation of Merrilee Fullerton in 2023.

While the Ontario Works program purports to better respect peoples dignity, build self-esteem and promote independence,[citation needed] its origins are in the Ontario Works Act, 1997 as a workfare programme under the Mike Harris government.

Ontario Works is a program that provides income and employment assistance for people who are in financial need by developing an Action Plan in certain agencies.

The amount of money received from Ontario Works will depend on family size, income, assets, and housing costs.

In 2014, a $240-million Social Assistance Management System (SAMS) software platform deployed by IBM's Cúram Software caused $20 million of overpayments to 17,000 Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program (OW/ODSP) recipients, while thousands of others received token $5 monthly payments or nothing at all.