Ontario. General Welfare Assistance Branch

• General Welfare Assistance Branch

The General Welfare Assistance Branch was formed on January 1, 1959 under the General Welfare Assistance Act and assumed the functions of the Unemployment Relief Branch.

This branch reported directly to the Deputy Minister of the Ontario Department of Public Welfare throughout its existence. The branch was discontinued in 1967 when amendments to the General Welfare Assistance Act resulted in the creation of the Municipal Welfare Administration Branch.

The General Welfare Assistance Branch provided financial assistance to Ontario residents unable to work for a variety of reasons (e.g. illness, physical disability, desertion by the wage earner). In some cases, the branch provided supplementary assistance to individuals already receiving other governmental allowances. In the areas of Ontario represented by counties, the branch, in conjunction with the Dominion government, provided municipalities with grants . In these areas, the actual administration of Relief was performed by the municipalities although the branch inspected and audited municipal accounts. In the province’s eleven territorial districts the branch administered Relief directly. The branch also provided recipients with free medical care including essential home care services. Lastly, this branch offered the necessary prosthetic devices and vocational training or retraining to help aid recipients re-enter the workforce.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Department of Public Welfare Annual Reports, 1958-1967.

Archivist(s):
Bill Hughey