Thanks for your thoughts and FL as well. I honestly don't really feel that regulations do a good job of reflecting modern working practices for many of us and there is where a lot of the problem comes from.

I am still left with my original question however. The WP doesn't specify a restriction on where I can live and work in the same way it states that I must be employed by the named company and do the named role. No one (including the IRCC representative I spoke to on the phone today) can give me a straight answer on whether the WP actually restricts me from living and/or working somewhere else. If the officer sees fit to do that, they add a note stating so in the comments but that was not done in my case.

My personal reading of the regulations is that without a noted restriction it does not. Interesting my wife's open work permit just says 'Unknown' in the location.

The only people that are having a problem with it is service Ontario who won't give me OHIP coverage. If I can get a solid answer that I am not prevented from working in Ontario I believe I have a case to appeal the decision on the OHIP coverage, which would be preferable to re-submitting for a new WP.

As for PR, I could transition to that, I would be eligible to apply but given the length of time it takes, I'm not sure I could spend that long with no health coverage. That is definitely the long term plan anyway, providing the family are happy here but I had previously assumed that living/working in Canada for several years prior to applying would strengthen my application....

Thanks again.

The work permit is one thing; eligibility for OHIP is something else. Even if the work permit allows you to live and work in Ontario, it does not necessarily follow that you qualify for OHIP. Read the OHIP eligibility requirements which specifically mention working "for an Ontario employer".

https://www.ontario.ca/page/apply-oh...card#section-2


To meet the minimum qualifications you must:

• be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12‑month period
• be physically in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after you began living in the province
• make Ontario your primary home

You must also meet at least one of the following additional requirements. You:

• are a Canadian citizen
• are an Indigenous person (registered under the federal Indian Act)
• are a permanent resident (formerly called a “landed immigrant”)
• have applied for permanent residence, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has confirmed that:
  • you meet the eligibility requirements to apply
  • you have not yet been denied
• are in Ontario on a valid work permit and are working full-time in Ontario, for an Ontario employer, for at least six months
  • your spouse and any dependents also qualify if you do
• are in Ontario on a valid work permit under the federal Live-in Caregiver Program
• are a convention refugee or other protected person (as defined by Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada)
• have a Temporary Resident Permit (only certain case types, e.g. 86 through 95)
• are a clergy member who can legally stay in Canada and is ministering full time in Ontario for at least six months
  • your spouse and any dependents also qualify if you do

Who is your wife working for? Is she working for an Ontario employer?

I have no idea if she qualifies for OHIP as I don't know anything about it but just wondered.

Whether or not you comply with your WP is a separate Q as I think FL raises very relevant points with which I tend to agree.

Thanks, I am struggling to find a legal definition of 'an Ontario employer'.

If it is a company that employs people in Ontario then I would qualify as there are many employees in Ontario.

If it is a company that has a physical registered office in Ontario then I would not qualify.

According to the list I could just apply for PR and qualify that way, regardless of employer/permit issues, which is an alternative, although it isn't clear if the family would also automatically qualify in that case.

This is more specific - it looks like an Ontario employer is "an employer situated in Ontario".

Questions and Answers - Ontario Health Insurance Plan - Ministry Programs - Public Information - MOHLTC

Look under "Am I eligible for Ontario Health Insurance?"

you are a foreign worker who holds a work permit valid for at least 6-months which permits you to work in Canada, and you are working under a formal agreement in place to work full-time for an employer situated in Ontario which sets out the employer’s name, your occupation, and states that you will be working for no less than six consecutive months;

Indeed, thanks for that. There seems to be several wordings and different interpretations published in every document and government website I look at. That is obviously an official Ontario Government website but that wording is actually contrary to the wording of Regulation 552 of the Health Insurance Act which is the over-ridding legislation.

I've decided to appeal the OHIP decision after our company lawyer has now reviewed and agrees with me that Service Ontario are wrong in this case and has written my appeal letter for the review committee. We'll see how it goes.

Often the case with government documents. Someone decides to put out guidelines and they contradict something in the law or make something ambiguous. Then it's open to interpretation by whatever jobsworth you end up dealing with.


How so?

It would appear that they are trying to restrict eligibility for those on work permits who actually work for an Ontario employer (which seems to mean an employer physically situated in Ontario). If you're a citizen or PR, this isn't an issue - but they clearly feel they can add this restriction for those on work permits. I'd be interested to know why your lawyer thinks that Ontario does not have the right to do this. Good luck!

Because the actual wording of the Health Insurance Act doesn't say 'an employer situated in Ontario' at all. It says "work for an employer in Ontario" which is different. Anyone who employs someone in Ontario is by definition an 'employer in Ontario' regardless of where their physical office building happens to be.

[/QUOTE]

Because in all other areas of regulation for example health and safety, worker's comp etc etc, if you employ someone in Ontario, you are an Ontario employer and the Government doesn't get to pick and chose whatever definition suits them whenever they fancy. (His words not mine)

I'll find out within 30 days. If they say no, I won't have any choice but to either reapply for my work permit or return to the UK as I can't realistically keep a young family here with no health coverage.

Well, it might be different - that's just your take on it.

I agree that the wording isn't clear. It's true that "work for an employer in Ontario" could mean that the employee is in Ontario working for an employer who may or may not be in Ontario (your interpretation). However, it could also mean that the employee is working for an employer and it's the employer who is in Ontario (which seems to be their interpretation).

By your logic I could get a job with an employer in Alberta who is only located in Alberta and who only employs people in Alberta. I could then move to Ontario to work remotely for this Alberta employer. Does that really make them an Ontario employer all of a sudden? And make me eligible for OHIP? That sounds like a stretch unless I really have to be physically present in Ontario to do my job for some reason.

Anyway, good luck with your appeal. I hope it goes your way but it sounds like you don't actually have to be in Ontario to do your job. So with your employer being in Alberta, you may have a problem with your appeal.

Thanks, I see your point but conversely if your employer decides to move its head office to another province does that mean they don't have to comply with Ontario employment regulations anymore? That's not the way the Health and Safety law reads nor the Employee's right stuff..

Honestly the level of Provincial bureaucracy and thinking is leaving me exasperated. You'd think Calgary was Moscow not just another major city in the same country.

You keep talking about employment regulations but this has nothing to do with employment regulations. We're talking about health insurance coverage which is run by the provinces. Each province has its own eligibility requirements. For OHIP eligibility, you don't have the same rights as Canadian citizens or PRs - they can do what you are doing and get OHIP coverage no problem. You are being treated differently only because you are a temporary resident on a work permit - and one which is for an employer situated in another province. Now, you may be perfectly within your rights to live in Ontario if you so wish but you still have to meet OHIP eligibility requirements to obtain OHIP coverage.

Prepare to hear something like this from them: "You work for an Alberta employer who has no physical presence in Ontario so why are you in Ontario? You can go to Alberta and get health insurance coverage there."

I don't see how you working remotely from Ontario for an Alberta employer suddenly makes them "an Ontario employer". If that was the case, there's no point in even having "an Ontario employer" in their requirements as, by definition, they would be an Ontario employer as soon as you start working from Ontario. You might have a case if you physically have to be in Ontario to do your job but that does not appear to be the situation. Otherwise, it seems clear that an Ontario employer is one that is physically situated in Ontario.

Here is another example to ponder over

Canadian National railways have a rail line that runs across the country and they have offices in most Provinces. You apply for a job with them for Winnipeg. CNR HQ is located in Montreal Quebec. So do I get health care coverage for both Provinces?

You accept the job and move to Winnipeg so you would qualify for Manitoba Health coverage. Now because you are a specialized driver for a track repair vehicle that CN owns they now want you to travel to various Provinces over a period of 6 months to repair the tracks in those Provinces. My guess is you would be covered by the Health Care plan from Manitoba and you wouldn't need to register with each province for the 1 month you were working in it.

As I have found out laws, regulations and such seem to be written by lawyers and only for other lawyers to understand and not the average person Why else would we need over 5000 pages for the Income Tax Act The pdf file online is only 19254 KB.

Happy to update this thread. The OHIP eligibility review committee agreed with my appeal and granted OHIP coverage.

It took nearly 17 weeks of waiting for the appeal to actually be read, but once someone was assigned to the case it was cleared up in a matter of hours. Happy days!

@Fourspoon: Thanks ...this is such a sigh of relief to read the conclusion...I am also put in the exact same situation by OHIP Yesterday and found this thread while researching....Thank you for all the details you have provided ..it is such a good help for the people in the similar situation having no other place to get a good answer....

About my Situation:
It is kinda exactly same as yours....I have my work permit "employment Location as Vancouver" but no Conditions stating I am not authorized to work at any other location.. ..I landed in Ontario as my assignment with client started here..only difference I see in my situation is that My parent company has an office in Ontario as well (which I believe helps to support my case)..

It will be really a great help if you can also suggest some details of appeal you made..the documents/argument you were asked to present...Thanks in advance!!

Hi, I'd be happy to help I know what a stressful situation this is. PM your email address and I will send you the appeal letter I wrote to the OHIP committee.
Have you officially been refused on your initial application yet?
The worst part is the waiting. 17 weeks just for a response in my case. I did manage to find an email address and a phone number eventually where you can chase but they won't tell you much, other than confirm your case is in the queue. Make sure you keep receipts for any healthcare expenses in the interim.

I also looked at the Ontario office option, this was going to be my fall back position if the appeal was not successful. Unfortunately though this would mean you have to reapply for your work permit, which is also a long and slow process. In my case this was harder as the company was going to have to register a shell company in Ontario to facilitate this, which they were willing to do, but thankfully it didn't come to that.

Unrelated to OHIP and this may or may not be an issue for you but you can also expect a lot of scrutiny at land border crossings,when returning to Canada. I stopped going over the border to the US because of it. Sometimes they were ok after a short explanation but many times I got sent to 'secondary' processing and grilled about why I was in Ontario. At airports they never even mention it.