WHAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT SHOULD I CALL?

Federal: Taxes/CRA, Employment Insurance (EI), Immigration, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), passports

Call your Member of Parliament, Peter Fragiskatos: 519-663-9777

Provincial: Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Family Responsibility Office (FRO), birth certificates, driver’s licenses, OHIP, OSAP, London Hydro, Ontario Works, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Landlord-Tenant Board

Call your Member of Provincial Parliament, Terence Kernaghan: 519-432-7339

Municipal: Roads & ploughs/snow removal, by-laws, noise violations, London Transit, housing, parking, garbage collection, marriage licenses, and more.

Call the City of London: 519-661-2489 or your City Councillor

School Issues: If you have attempted to rectify the matter with your child’s teacher and principal and have been unsuccessful in securing an outcome you feel is satisfactory, you may want to contact your child’s school board trustee as the next step.

Information for the Thames Valley District School Board Trustees can be found at this link.

Information for the London District Catholic School Board Trustees is available here.

WHERE CAN I GET MY TAXES DONE FOR FREE?

Several organizations offer free volunteer tax preparation clinics. The Canada Revenue Agency website offers a list of the local organizations that are participating in this program. Visit this link, click on ‘Find a free tax clinic in your area’, select ‘Ontario’ and ‘London’ from the drop-down menus, and click ‘Search’.

Here is some information that may be helpful for you in preparing your tax documents for filing:

• Please note that the volunteer income tax preparation service is provided for people who have an income below $30,000/year (for a single person), and $40,000/year (for a couple), and whose tax situations are not complex.

• To have your taxes filed, you must bring your SIN (Social Insurance Number), all ‘T’ forms (e.g. T4, T5, T2202A, etc.) and other forms that apply to your income situation, such as Canada Child Benefit (CCB) notices, GST/HST credit notices, Ontario Trillium Benefit notices, rental receipts, etc. You may also want to have a look at this page on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) site. It contains a lot of detail about the kinds of expenses you may be able to deduct from your taxes to help maximize your return.

• Bring in any and all documents/receipts related to the expenses you think you may be eligible to claim, as well as last year’s Notice of Assessment from the CRA. You will have received one of these from the CRA if you filed your taxes last year.

• You may want to consider signing up for the CRA MyAccount. This is a secure online portal that allows you to easily access previous years’ Notices of Assessment, pay any amounts owing, view previous years’ returns, access T-slips, track the status of your return, and more. This is a free service, and can be quite useful if you have misplaced any documents or need to access your tax information quickly.

CAN I GET THE NUMBER FOR…?

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

1.800.267.6999 (Tax Information Phone Service)

Employment Insurance (EI)

1.800.206.7218

Automated 24/7; to speak to a representative, call 8:30am – 4:30pm

Monday – Friday, and press “0”

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

1.800.277.9914

National Student Loans Service Centre / Canada Student Loans

1.888.815.4514

Immigration, Refugees, & Citizenship

1.888.242.2100

WHEN IS THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN SESSION?

The House of Commons Sitting Calendar indicates which weeks the House is in session (highlighted in green), and which weeks Members of Parliament generally return to their constituencies (no highlighting). The calendar is kept up to date and can be viewed on the Parliamentary website at this link.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CPP, EI, THE CANADA CHILD BENEFIT (CCB), DISABILITY, AND OTHER BENEFITS?

The best resource for this information (including eligibility requirements and how to apply) is canada.ca/benefits

WHERE IS THE SERVICE CANADA OFFICE IN LONDON NORTH CENTRE?

457 Richmond St (at Queens Ave)

Dominion Public Building

Monday-Friday, 8:30am—4:00pm

WHERE CAN I ACCESS LEGAL HELP?

Legal Aid Ontario—London Office

150 Dufferin Avenue, 8th floor, Suite 802

519.433.8179

Community Legal Services at Western University Law School

519.661.3352

Law Society of Upper Canada Referral Service (advice over the phone)

1.855.947.5255

Neighbourhood Legal Services

519.438.2890

Family Law Information Centre - 80 Dundas Street (London Courthouse)

519.660.3001

Tenant Duty Counsel (landlord-tenant advice)

150 Dufferin Ave, 4th Floor

519.850.3428

I AM PLANNING A TRIP TO OTTAWA. CAN I VISIT PARLIAMENT?

Visitors are welcome and encouraged to come see their government in action in the House of Commons. All visits to Parliament are free of charge. For more information call 1-866-599-4999, email [email protected] or get in touch with my office.

***Important Note: To avoid disappointment, if you are interested in seeing the House of Commons in session during your trip to Parliament Hill, be sure to take a look at the House of Commons Sitting Calendar, which indicates which weeks the House is in session. The up-to-date calendar can be viewed at this link.

Please note that tickets to Question Period must be booked through my office. Please call 519-663-9777 or email [email protected] with the names of those wishing to attend, the dates you would like to view Question Period, and your contact information.

CAN PETER COME SPEAK AT MY CHILD’S SCHOOL?

Absolutely! Peter is always pleased to speak with students and young constituents about the issues that matter to them. Please get in touch with our office to set up a school visit.

I AM TRYING TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT TAX PROGRAMS/BENEFITS THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE PROVINCE. WHO DO I CALL?

Some tax programs are actually administered by the Province of Ontario. If you are looking for information about the Ontario Senior Homeowner’s Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG), the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit (OSTTB), or the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) – which includes the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC), the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC), and the Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC) – please call the following number:

Phone: 1.877.627.6645

Monday-Friday, 8:15am—5:00pm