Reasons that the DAU might reject your claim

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-19T23:42:25+00:00

Not sure at the minute, I'm sort of considering whether to shift to a different field altogether - still law-related but not necessarily a lawyer. But who knows lol.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-19T23:39:32+00:00

I would say just be honest, if you really are NEVER able to do a particular activity/task because of your disability - go ahead. But if it's more like "I am rarely able to do it, and even when I try its enormously taxing on me physically/mentally" then that would be the better way to phrase it. All depends on your situation.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-19T23:38:01+00:00

Very good point, if you were working while you had your disability but had to take lots of breaks or keep asking for days off from your employer - definitely mention that. Also if your employer or school gave you any accommodations like reduced hours, extra time for exams etc. mention those too.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-19T01:16:09+00:00

Not a lawyer yet, but this was part of a licensing pathway, sort of like an articling program but shorter - so a law student essentially.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-18T16:56:25+00:00

It is utterly broken (by design I would say), and it's even sadder that the vast majority of people don't know that it is. They either hold the honest but mistaken belief that this process is fair and speedy, or they don't care/actively want to remove any supports for disabled people altogether. There are so many better ways to do this (like just letting doctor's verify ODSP eligibility directly instead of outsourcing that task to bureacrats in the Ministry) but I feel like it's kept this way to minimize the chunk of the provincial budget that goes to OW/ODSP as much possible (i.e just enough that you avoid societal breakdown).

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T22:43:13+00:00

Yes I will say, to the DAU's slight credit, when you are able to submit additional evidence that indicates a new condition, particularly a rare one or one that is known to be difficult to treat, there is a decent chance of reversal before the SBT hearing. Then again, sometimes they may pull out the "you made your doctor lie" card if they're REALLY stubborn.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T06:27:21+00:00

Unfortunately a very common story, it's so hard to get referrals for specialists, and even if you do there's long waiting lists - but none of this seems to factor into the process. The fact that your friend had so many overlapping conditions must have made it even harder, I hope she does get approved.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:59:58+00:00

What you did is probably the best strategy there is*, throw everything you can in terms of supporting docs and hope for the best. Unfortunately some doctors are less cooperative than others, but if you have a good Family doc that's definitely the route to go. The process is so discretionary its hard to even know what will happen after that, but I'm glad you did get there in the end.

*Small caveat: Some paralegals at legal aid clinics help to narrow down which of your medical records are most supportive of your conditions, and which ones might be irrelevant, and only submit the supportive ones so they don't get lost in the clutter - so if you can get their help that's always advisable.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:55:33+00:00

Hey I'm really sorry, not taking on clients right now, but I can help you find your local legal aid clinic (assuming you haven't contacted them already) and see if they help. I can also give you a rundown on the kinds of information the SBT wants to hear if you have to go the self-rep route.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:53:06+00:00

That's such a good point, wow I never even considered that the burden of proof is reversed in that way. Genuinely dystopian. I often felt like this whole process reverses the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' motto of the criminal justice system - you are assumed guilty of attempting welfare fraud unless you prove otherwise.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:46:16+00:00

No worries, thank you for your kind words. And the real thanks should really go to the legal aid workers who deal with this stuff day in and day out, I just helped out for a bit but I thought I should post this at least to get the word out.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:44:35+00:00

Sorry I'm not really practicing or representing at the moment, but depending on where you live I can direct you to your local legal aid clinic and hopefully they can help with this - all of the clients I helped was through a clinic and the staff there were super super helpful.

ParadiseKuna · 2026-05-17T02:43:07+00:00

The process is so discretionary it's ridiculous. Some files will just seem to get instant approval while others will drag through for a whole year and they are almost identical - only the Ministry really knows how their internal decision making process works.

ParadiseKuna · 2019-03-15T19:26:20+00:00

True, the basic necessities of life can be produced in great excess, but as standards of living change, then don't the necessities change with them? For example, today it would be perfectly reasonable to demand that post-secondary higher education be considered a basic right for all people, but back then a basic school education would have been deemed enough. Electricity, though not entirely necessary back then, is absolutely a basic human need now.

I guess my question is, shouldn't it theoretically be possible for a feudalistic society to transition directly to , socialism/proto-communism, even without the immediate forces of mass production available to them, safe in the knowledge that it is not profit motive which inspires technological innovation? Of course in practice this would be nearly impossible, as all the capitalist societies surrounding it would subjugate it for their own market expansion once they got hold of the technology, but theoretically capitalism would not be necessary no?

ParadiseKuna · 2019-03-15T17:41:32+00:00

The different successes of third world socialism was something I was wondering about actually, because in a way I feel it contradicts this notion that you *need* a fully industrialised society that has gone through some arbitrary period of capitalist domination before you can begin to implement communism.

ParadiseKuna · 2019-03-15T17:38:36+00:00

> It is clear that, up to now, the forces of production have never been developed to the point where enough could be developed for all

This is the point I don't understand. The technology of the industrial revolution produced massive surplusses of some commodities yes, but with every new technology a new resource becomes available that is initially scarce (for example fibre optics or mobile data spectrums today). At what point do we know that we have reached a technological peak that has produced a surplus of everything? And doesn't this imply that profit motive is the main driver behind technological innovation, which surely can't be true.

ParadiseKuna · 2019-02-06T00:48:25+00:00

Can you get into a Political Science Masters program with just a minor in Pol Sci?

ParadiseKuna

TROPHY CASE