I A P P E A i P A R T C D e c i s i o n u n d e r A p p e a l T h e d e c i s i o n u n d e r a p p e a l i s t h e M i n i s t r y o f C h i l d r e n a n d F a m i l y D e v e l o p m e n t ( t h e m i n i s t r y ) r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n d a t e d M a y 2 7 , 2 0 1 4 w h i c h d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r c h i l d c a r e s u b s i d y ( C C S ) f o r t h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n J u n e 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n a n o v e r p a y m e n t o f $ 3 , 1 9 0 . 0 0 u n d e r s e c t i o n s 5 a n d 7 o f t h e C h i l d C a r e S u b s i d y A c t ( C C S A ) a n d u n d e r s e c t i o n s 1 , 7 a n d 1 4 o f t h e C h i l d C a r e S u b s i d y R e g u l a t i o n ( C C S R ) . P A R T D R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n C h i l d C a r e S u b s i d y A c t ( C C S A ) s e c t i o n s 5 a n d 7 . C h i l d C a r e S u b s i d y R e g u l a t i o n ( C C S R ) s e c t i o n s 1 , 7 , a n d 1 4 . \ E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )
I APPEAi PART E -Summary of Facts The following evidence was before the ministry at the time of reconsideration: • That the appellant was issued a CCS based on her status as a single parent during the period between June 2011 until January 2014; • That on May 28, 2013 the appellant submitted a renewal application CF2900 to the CCS Centre dated May 5, 2013; • That the appellant was eligible for a CCS based on a 1 parent, 2 unit family, received CCS at the G2, 20 full days per month and S2 rate during the months of June and July 2013, that as of August 2013 the appellant received a CCS at the G3, 20 full days per month and S2 rate, and that the appellant's eligibility was calculated using the base threshold income level for a 2 unit family at $1,082; • That the appellant worked 8 hours per day and 5 days a week and had a total family income of $1,643,15; • That on January 6, 2014 the appellant advised the CCS Centre by telephone that she had a change in family composition, she had a new spouse and a new baby, that her spouse was employed full time, that she was currently on maternity leave and confirmed her last day of work to be August 26, 2013; • That the ministry sent a letter to the appellant on March 11, 2014 stating the receipt of statement from the Verification and Audit Branch of the ministry which determined that the appellant began living in a dependent marriage-like relationship with the spouse as of June 2013, that the appellant was ineligible for amounts of subsidy from June 2013 to January 2014, and that the appellant received $3,190.00 for which she was not eligible; • Integrated Case Management notes dated January 6, 2014; • Residential tenancy agreement for prior mutual address of the appellant and the spouse; • ICBC information for the appellant showing tenancy as of November 2013; • ICBC information for the spouse showing tenancy as of February 2014; • Personal property printout showing joint property; and • CCS overpayment calculation. In the Request for Reconsideration dated April 8, 2014, the appellant outlined the following: • A request that the ministry reconsider the amount owed from June 2013 -September 18, 2013 and the fact that her dependent did not attend daycare in January 2014; • The reasons the appellant believes that she does not owe funds for June 2013 -September 18, 2013 are because once she had moved she did notify child care subsidy of all the changes, sent all the requested information and completed all documents truthfully and honestly to the best of her knowledge; • That the appellant was single until September 18, 2013 when their child was born as they had only lived together 4 months, that their money was never combined and they lived in a roommate type relationship during the period of June 2013 to September 18, 2014; • That the appellant understood to go by the B.C. rules regarding marital status unless it is stated in the rules that it is different, that she did not come across another definition, and that nowhere in the CCS application process does it state that there is a different definition or that a marriage-type relationship starts as soon as you move in together and that there is no way for the appellant to have known this; and • That the appellant was late reporting the CCS due to recovering from surgery. In her Notice of Appeal dated and signed on June 2, 2014, the appellant indicated that she disagrees with the ministry's reconsideration decision because she was not in a marriage like relationship with her spouse at that time and that they were living as roommates until the date their son was born. Also she indicates that the child did not attend day care in January 2014 so that she should not have to pay back anything for this period. At the hearina, the aooellant Provided more detailed information about the aooellant's livina arranaements with EMT 003( 10/06/01)
I APPEAL her now common law spouse and stated that her spouse was a roommate on a trial basis until September 18, 2013, that they had separate finances and split the expenses equitably, they had separate friends and lives and that the appellant was responsible for her own son. The appellant pointed out the lack of a definition for a marriage-like relationship in the legislation, that the concept is vague and open to interpretation and that where there is ambiguity in the legislation it should be resolved in favor of the appellant. The appellant also read aloud the written statements from herself, her spouse, her mother and their friends. The appellant also provided information that her son did not attend day care in January 2014 and requests the ministry to collect the overpayment of funds from the day care rather than from the appellant. In summary, the appellant stated that she does not think that she owes CCS for the months of June, July and August 2013, that she does not think she owes CCS for January 2014 and believes the total that she owes to be $962.50. At the hearing the appellant also provided the following additional documents as evidence: • A written statement for the appellant which provides case examples related to marriage-like relationships and suggests that the concept is vague and open to interpretation and that where there is ambiguity in the legislation it should be resolved in favor of the appellant; • A written statement from the appellant which outlines more details about the development of the relationship between the appellant and her spouse and that as of October 2013 they filed as a common law couple for tax purposes; • A written statement from the appellant's spouse which outlines more details about the development of their relationship, that they filed as a common law couple for tax purposes, that they signed common law housing papers with the military and that they have been very honest and declared everything; • A written statement from the appellant's mother related to the short length of time that the appellant knew the spouse before she was pregnant and that they moved in together as roommates to see if they could and wanted to be a couple; • A written statement from two friends of the appellant's spouse outlining the relationship history of the appellant and her spouse, why they moved in together, that they only occasionally spent time together, and that they moved in together to share their duties; • The appellant's bank profile and statement for June, July and August 2013; • The spouse's bank profile and statement for June, July and August 2013; and • The utilities bills for the months of June, July and August 2013 with both the appellant and spouse named on the account. At the hearing, the ministry stated that each situation is unique related to what constitutes a marriage-like relationship and there could be so many scenarios and as a result the ministry assesses each case as it comes up. The ministry also stated that in this case there seemed to be strong social-familial ties between the appellant and her now common law spouse given that she became pregnant and acknowledges him as the father, that they moved in together and that they now have filed as common law status on their tax return. The ministry stated that these actions are consistent with a marriage-like relationship. The panel determined the additional oral and written evidence was admissible under s. 22(4) of the Employment and Assistance Act as it was in support of the records before the minister at reconsideration. EAAT 003(10/06/01)
P A R T F R e a s o n s f o r P a n e l D e c i s i o n T h e i s s u e u n d e r a p p e a l i s w h e t h e r t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n s u b s i d y ( C C S ) f o r t h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n J u n e 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u $ 3 , 1 9 0 . 0 0 u n d e r s e c t i o n s 5 ( 2 ) a n d 7 ( 1 ) o f t h e C C S A a n d r e a s o n a b l e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e l e g i s l a t i o n o r r e a s o n a b l y s u L e g i s l a t i o n C C S A S e c t i o n 5 I n f o r m a t i o n a n d v e r i f i c a t i o n 5 ( 2 ) A p e r s o n t o o r f o r w h o m a c h i l d c a r e s u a n d i n t h e m a n n e r s p e c i f i e d b y r e g u l a t i o n e l i g i b i l i t y u n d e r t h i s A c t . C C S A S e c t i o n 7 O v e r p a y m e n t s , r e p a y m e n t s a n d a s s i g 7 ( 1 ) I f a c h i l d c a r e s u b s i d y i s p a i d t o o r f o r a r e p a y t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e a m o u n t t o w C C S R S e c t i o n 1 D e f i n i t i o n s " d e p e n d a n t " , i n r e l a t i o n t o a p a r e n t , m e ( a ) i s t h e s p o u s e o f t h e p a r e n ( b ) i s a d e p e n d e n t c h i l d o f t h e ( c ) s h a r e s w i t h t h e p a r e n t i n c t h e i n c o m e o r a s s e t s , o r ( d ) i n d i c a t e s a p a r e n t a l r o l e f o " s p o u s e " , i n r e l a t i o n t o a p a r e n t , m e a n s ( a ) i s m a r r i e d t o t h e p a r e n t , o ( b ) i s l i v i n g w i t h t h e p a r e n t i n C C S R S e c t i o n 7 I n c o m e t e s t 7 ( 1 ) A n a p p l i c a n t i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r a c h i l d c a r e s u ( a ) t h e f a m i l y ' s m o n t h l y n e t i n ( b ) t h e r e s u l t o f t h e c a l c u l a t i o n z e r o . C C S R S e c t i o n 1 4 N o t i f y i n g t h e m i n i s t e r o f c h a n g e i n c i 1 4 T h e n o t i f i c a t i o n r e q u i r e d b y s e c t i o n 5 ( 2 ) o f t h e A c ( a ) a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e a f t e r a t h e p a r e n t , a n d ( b ) t o a n e m p l o y e e i n t h e C h i l M i n i s t r y A r g u m e n t T h e m i n i s t r y a r g u e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i s l i a b l e f o r t h e r e p J u n e 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 a n d w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o . T h e w a s a f f e c t e d i n J u n e 2 0 1 3 w h e n t h e a p p e l l a n t b e g a n l i v i n r e l a t i o n s h i p , o n S e p t e m b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 w h e n h e r f a m i l y c o m i n A u g u s t 2 0 1 3 w h e n t h e a p p e l l a n t b e g a n h e r m a t e r n i t y l s e c t i o n 7 o u t l i n e s h o w t h e C C S i s c a l c u l a t e d . I n t h e c a s e r e c e i v e d f r o m J u n e 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u a r y 2 1 0 4 w a s b a s e d o n n e t i n c o m e . T h e s e c a l c u l a t i o n s d o n o t t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h e r s p o u s e w a s n o t r e p o r t a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t n o t i f y t h e m i n i s t r y u n t i l J a n u a r y 6 , 2 0 1 4 C C C R s e c t i o n 1 4 . T h e m i n i s t r y i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f w h a t c o n c a s e b y c a s e b a s i s . T h e m i n i s t r y a l s o a r g u e s t h a t i n t h e c s o c i a l f a m i l i a l t i e s b e t w e e n t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d h e r n o w c o a n d a c k n o w l e d g e s h i m a s t h e f a t h e r , t h a t t h e y m o v e d i n s t a t u s o n t h e i r t a x r e t u r n . T h e m i n i s t r y c o n c l u d e s t h a t t h e E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A i t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r c h i l d c a r e a r y 2 0 1 4 w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n a n o v e r p a y m e n t o f u n d e r s e c t i o n s 1 , 7 ( 1 ) a n d 1 4 o f t h e C C S R , w a s a p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e . b s i d y i s p a i d m u s t n o t i f y t h e m i n i s t e r , w i t h i n t h e t i m e , o f a n y c h a n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a f f e c t i n g t h e i r n m e n t s p e r s o n w h o i s n o t e n t i t l e d t o i t , t h a t p e r s o n i s l i a b l e t o h i c h t h e p e r s o n w a s n o t e n t i t l e d . a n s a n y o n e w h o r e s i d e s w i t h t h e p a r e n t a n d w h o t , p a r e n t , o m e o r a s s e t s o r a n y n e c e s s i t i e s o f l i f e o b t a i n e d w i t h r t h e p a r e n t ' s c h i l d ; a n y o n e w h o r a m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p ; b s i d y f o r a c h i l d r e c e i v i n g a t y p e o f c h i l d c a r e i f c o m e e x c e e d s t h e c h i l d ' s t h r e s h o l d , a n d u n d e r s e c t i o n 8 ( 2 ) f o r t h e c h i l d i s n o t m o r e t h a n r c u m s t a n c e s t m u s t b e g i v e n i n w r i t i n g o r b y t e l e p h o n e , n y c h a n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a f f e c t i n g t h e e l i g i b i l i t y o f d C a r e S u b s i d y S e r v i c e C e n t r e . a y m e n t o f $ 3 , 1 9 0 . 0 0 i n C C S t h a t s h e r e c e i v e d f r o m m i n i s t r y o u t l i n e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s C C S e l i g i b i l i t y g w i t h h e r c u r r e n t s p o u s e i n a d e p e n d e n t p o s i t i o n c h a n g e d w i t h t h e b i r t h o f a s e c o n d s o n , a n d e a v e w h i c h a l t e r e d h e r n e t f a m i l y i n c o m e . T h e C C S R o f t h e a p p e l l a n t , t h e a m o u n t o f s u b s i d y t h a t s h e a 2 u n i t , s i n g l e p a r e n t f a m i l y a n d o n l y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s h e i n c o m e o f t h e s p o u s e b e c a u s e t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s e d i n J u n e 2 0 1 3 . T h e m i n i s t r y a l s o a r g u e s t h a t t h e w h i c h i s n o t a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e a s o u t l i n e d i n t h e s t i t u t e s a m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p i s a s s e s s e d o n a s e o f t h e a p p e l l a n t t h e r e s e e m e d t o b e s t r o n g m m o n l a w s p o u s e g i v e n t h a t s h e b e c a m e p r e g n a n t t o g e t h e r a n d t h a t t h e y n o w h a v e f i l e d a s c o m m o n l a w s e a c t i o n s a r e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h a m a r r i a q e l i k e
r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e d a n o v e r p a y m a c c o u n t t h e i n c o m e o f t h e s p o u s e b e c a u s e t h e a p p e l l a n t r e p o r t e d i n J u n e 2 0 1 3 . A p p e l l a n t A r g u m e n t T h e a p p e l l a n t a r g u e s t h a t s h e d o e s n o t t h i n k t h a t s h e o w 2 0 1 3 , t h a t s h e d o e s n o t t h i n k s h e o w e s C C S f o r J a n u a r y $ 9 6 2 . 5 0 b e c a u s e s h e w a s n o t l i v i n g i n a m a r r i a g e l i k e r e 2 1 0 3 a n d h e r s o n w a s n o t i n d a y c a r e f o r J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 . m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p i n t h e l e g i s l a t i o n , t h a t t h e c o n c w h e r e t h e r e i s a m b i g u i t y i n t h e l e g i s l a t i o n i t s h o u l d b e r e s t h a t s h e a n d t h e s p o u s e a t t h e t i m e h a d s e p a r a t e f r i e n d s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r h e r o w n s o n . T h e a t h e y m o v e d i n t o g e t h e r a s r o o m m a t e s t o s e e i f t h e y c o u l d a l s o s t a t e d t h a t i t w a s n o t u n t i l O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3 t h a t t h e a p p f o r t a x p u r p o s e s . T h e a p p e l l a n t a l s o s t a t e d t h a t h e r s o n d t h e m i n i s t r y t o c o l l e c t t h e o v e r p a y m e n t o f f u n d s f r o m t h e P a n e l D e c i s i o n T h e C C S R s e c t i o n 1 d e f i n i t i o n o f s p o u s e p r o v i d e s t h a t a m a r r i e d t o t h e p a r e n t o r w h o i s l i v i n g w i t h t h e p a r e n t i n a o f " m a r r i a g e l i k e " r e l a t i o n s h i p i n t h e l e g i s l a t i o n a n d t h e m E v e n t h o u g h t h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e s t h a t s h e a n d h e r s p o u s e x p e n s e s e q u i t a b l y a n d t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s r e s p o n s i b l e f o i n a m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e c a u s e t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t c o n c e i v e d t h e y h a d t h e i r c h i l d i n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3 a n d t h e n i n O c t o b p u r p o s e s . I n a d d i t i o n , e v e n t h o u g h t h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h t o g e t h e r 4 m o n t h s a n d t h a t t h e y w e r e l i v i n g a s r o o m m a t e f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m o t h e r o u t l i n e d t h a t t h e y d e c i d e d t o t o b e c o m e a p e r m a n e n t c o u p l e . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e w o r k a s a c o u p l e d o e s n o t n e g a t e t h a t t h e y w e r e a c o u p l T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t a d v i s e t h e m i n i e l i g i b i l i t y a s i s r e q u i r e d u n d e r t h e l e g i s l a t i o n . T h e C C S A s m u s t n o t i f y t h e m i n i s t e r o f a n y c h a n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a a n d i n t h e m a n n e r s p e c i f i e d b y r e g u l a t i o n . T h e C C S R s e w r i t i n g o r b y t e l e p h o n e a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e a f t e r a n y c h a p a r e n t a n d t o a n e m p l o y e e i n t h e C h i l d C a r e S u b s i d y S e r d i d n o t p r o v i d e h e r c h a n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a f f e c t i n g h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t r e p o r t a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e h e r n e w l i v i n o n A u g u s t 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 , a n d t h e b i r t h o f s o n o n S e p t e m b e r 1 t h e s e c h a n g e s u n t i l J a n u a r y 6 , 2 0 1 4 . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t o f f u n d s f r o m J u n e 2 0 1 3 i n c l u d i n g f o r J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 d e s p a t t e n d d a y c a r e i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 , b e c a u s e t h e C C S R s e c p e r s o n w h o i s n o t e n t i t l e d t o i t , t h a t p e r s o n i s l i a b l e t o r e p w a s n o t e n t i t l e d , a n d t h e m i n i s t r y i s n o t r e q u i r e d t o c o l l e c t h a n f r o m t h e a p p e l a n t . T h e r e f o r e , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h e m i n a n n l i c a b l e e n a c t m e n t i n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e a n n e l l a E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L # e n t b e c a u s e t h e C C S c a l c u l a t i o n s d i d n o t t a k e i n t o ' s m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h e r s p o u s e w a s n o t e s C C S f o r t h e m o n t h s o f J u n e , J u l y a n d A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 a n d b e l i e v e s t h e t o t a l t h a t s h e o w e s t o b e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h e r c u r r e n t s p o u s e u n t i l S e p t e m b e r 1 8 , T h e a p p e l l a n t a r g u e s t h a t t h e r e i s n o d e f i n i t i o n f o r a e p t i s v a g u ' e a n d o p e n t o i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , a n d t h a t o l v e d i n f a v o r o f t h e a p p e l l a n t . T h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d , s e p a r a t e f i n a n c e s , s p l i t t h e e x p e n s e s e q u i t a b l y a n d p p e l l a n t e x p l a i n e d t h a t o n c e s h e w a s p r e g n a n t t h a t a n d w a n t e d t o b e a c o u p l e a n d t o s h a r e d u t i e s . S h e e l l a n t a n d h e r s p o u s e f i l e d a s a c o m m o n l a w c o u p l e i d n o t a t t e n d d a y c a r e i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 a n d r e q u e s t s d a y c a r e r a t h e r t h a n f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t . s p o u s e i n r e l a t i o n t o a p a r e n t m e a n s a n y o n e w h o i s m a r r i a g e l i k e r e l a t i o n s h i p . T h e r e i s n o c l e a r d e f i n i t i o n i n i s t r y a s s e s s e s t h i s o n a c a s e b y c a s e a p p r o a c h . e h a d s e p a r a t e f r i e n d s , s e p a r a t e f i n a n c e s , s p l i t t h e r h e r o w n s o n , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h o t h e r m a r r i a g e l i k e i n l a t e 2 0 1 2 , t h e y m o v e d i n t o g e t h e r i n J u n e 2 0 1 3 , e r d e c l a r e d t h e m s e l v e s a s c o m m o n l a w f o r t a x a t w h e n t h e i r c h i l d w a s b o r n a s t h e y h a d o n l y l i v e d s u n t i l t h e d a t e t h e i r s o n w a s b o r n a w r i t t e n s t a t e m e n t b e c o m e r o o m m a t e s t o s e e i f t h e y c o u l d a n d w a n t e d f a c t t h a t t h e y d i d n o t k n o w t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p w o u l d e n o t s i m p l y r o o m m a t e s . s t r y o f h e r c h a n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a f f e c t i n g h e r e c t i o n 5 ( 2 ) p r o v i d e s t h a t a p e r s o n w h o i s p a i d a C C S f f e c t i n g t h e i r e l i g i b i l i t y u n d e r t h i s A c t w i t h i n t h e t i m e c t i o n 1 4 p r o v i d e s t h a t n o t i f i c a t i o n m u s t b e g i v e n i n n g e i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s a f f e c t i n g t h e e l i g i b i l i t y o f t h e v i c e C e n t r e . T h e p a n e l d e t e r m i n e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e l i g i b i l i t y a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e . M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e g a r r a n g e m e n t s a s o f J u n e 2 0 1 3 , h e r m a t e r n i t y l e a v e 8 , 2 0 1 3 b e c a u s e s h e d i d n o t n o t i f y t h e m i n i s t r y o f h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i s l i a b l e t o r e p a y a n y o v e r p a y m e n t i t e t h e e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s o n d i d n o t t i o n 7 ( 1 ) p r o v i d e s t h a t i f a C C S i s p a i d t o o r f o r a a y t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h e a m o u n t t o w h i c h t h e p e r s o n t t h e o v e r p a y m e n t o f f u n d s f r o m t h e d a y c a r e r a t h e r i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n w a s a r e a s o n a b l e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e n t a n d c o n f i r m s t h e d e c i s i o n .
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.