Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) is a provincial program that provides basic and essential financial benefits for food, clothing, personal and health needs for Manitobans who are unable to financially pay for these needs. All Manitobans are able to make an application for EIA to see if they are financially eligible for income assistance benefits.

You may be eligible for EIA if you:

• Are a resident of Manitoba
• Need money to pay for basic needs (food, housing, clothing) for yourself and your family
• Need money to pay for your health needs that are not covered by another program

However, the Department has other financial support programs that you could apply for if you are able to pay for most of your basic living costs but are having difficulty paying for some of your monthly needs.

There are programs that can help you with your rental costs in private (e.g. Rent Assist) or subsidized (e.g. Manitoba Housing) rental arrangements.

Other programs are there to help you with the costs of raising your children (e.g. Manitoba Child Care Program and Manitoba Child Benefit).

If you live in Winnipeg and are looking for work or are between jobs, Jobs on Market can help with your job search right away. Employment counsellors are on site to offer advice about your job search. You can also use computer and printing services and access job bank information to help with your job search planning. There is no cost to use Jobs on Market services. You may also receive help to pay for essential needs like food, housing and transportation while you look for work.

Getting financial help from these programs may mean that you do not need to apply for Employment and Income Assistance.

What would you like to do?

Spouse / Partner Information

Click 'SAVE' to save a partial copy of your application in a secure location on your computer or flash drive if you would like to come back and complete it later.

Dependent Children Information

This section refers to someone who is living with you, who you financially support and who is under 18.

You can add a maximum of 8 children using this form. If you need to add more than 8 children, please contact your nearest EIA office.

Click 'SAVE' to save a partial copy of your application in a secure location on your computer or flash drive if you would like to come back and complete it later.

Type of Accommodation You Live In

If you have shelter costs, you may be eligible for shelter-related financial supports. You will need to bring a copy of your lease or rental agreement.

If you do not have this information, you may have an EIA Rent Form completed by your landlord and bring it to your intake appointment

If you own your home, please bring your mortgage papers, property tax information and house insurance to your intake appointment.

If you only need help with shelter costs, Non-EIA Rent Assist for persons not on income assistance may be enough to meet your financial needs.

Note: Shelter costs will be considered for payment once applicants are found eligible for income assistance.

Click 'SAVE' to save a partial copy of your application in a secure location on your computer or flash drive if you would like to come back and complete it later.

Health Information

EIA can also provide additional financial assistance or health-related supports if you are being affected by a health or medical concern or if you have a disability that is affecting your ability to consider or look for work.

If you have a mental or physical disability that is likely to last more than 90 days and this disability keeps you from earning enough money to pay for your or your family’s basic needs, you may be eligible for additional supports under the EIA persons with disabilities category.

If you would like to apply for EIA as a Person with a Disability, please discuss this with staff at your intake appointment. Depending on your circumstances, you may be asked to submit an EIA Disability Assessment Report completed by your doctor.

Click 'SAVE' to save a partial copy of your application in a secure location on your computer or flash drive if you would like to come back and complete it later.

Your Rights and Responsibilities

If you are not satisfied with a decision made during your EIA application process, or once you are enrolled on EIA, or feel you have not been treated fairly, you may consider the following next steps:

• speak again to your EIA intake or case worker. Things may have been misunderstood and can be explained better
• if you continue to have questions or concerns, you may ask to speak to a supervisor
• if you still feel the issue has not been addressed, you can contact The Fair Practices Office

Fair Practices Office

The Fair Practices Office provides confidential and impartial assistance to persons applying for, or receiving services under EIA and other Department of Families programs who feel they have not been treated fairly:

Staff from the Fair Practices Office will review your circumstances and concerns to ensure that:

• you understand EIA eligibility requirements and rules, and the benefits you are able to receive
• you are told the reasons why a program decision was made about your case
• you are able to give your worker new or additional information to help them understand your needs or situation better

If you still feel the issue has not been addressed, you can contact The Fair Practices Office

For more information about the Fair Practices Office, please click here.

If your issue remains unresolved, you may file a formal appeal with the:

Social Services Appeal Board

If you feel a decision under the Employment and Income Assistance program was unfair, you may appeal if:

• you were not allowed to apply or reapply for income assistance
• a decision on your request for income assistance was not made in a reasonable amount of time
• you were denied income assistance
• the amount of your income assistance was cancelled, suspended, changed or withheld
• the amount of income assistance provided was not enough to meet your needs

For more information on the Social Services Appeal Board, please click here

What Happens Next?

Once you SUBMIT your Employment and Income Assistance online application you will be given a confirmation number. You will need to give this confirmation number if you need to contact Employment and Income Assistance staff about any changes to the information you gave in this online application (example – change in your contact telephone number, or address)

You will be contacted shortly about what you need to do to continue with your application for Employment and Income Assistance.

Click 'SAVE' to save a partial copy of your application in a secure location on your computer or flash drive if you would like to come back and complete it later.