I APPEAL II PART C-Decision under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (the ministry)'s Reconsideration Decision dated March 3, 2014 in which the ministry denied the appellant's request for a crisis supplement to pay an outstanding hydro bill. The ministry's decision states that the appellant's request does not meet all of the criteria set out in Section 59(1) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR) in particular, that the outstanding bill is not an unexpected expense or item needed unexpectedly. PART D-Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance Act (EAA) section 4 Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR), section 59
P A R T E S u m m a r y o f F a c t s T h e a p p e l l a n t i s a r e c i p i e n t o f i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e a s O n F e b r u a ry 0 3 , 2 0 1 4 t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s a d v i s e d b y s u p p l e m e n t t o p a y h i s o u t s t a n d i n g h y d r o b i l l , a n d h e F e b r u a r y 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 . T h e e v i d e n c e b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t ry a t t h e t i m e o f t h e r • A c o p y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s b a n k a c c o u n t a c t i v i 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 , i n d i c a t i n g a c l o s i n g b a l a n c e o f $ 5 . 6 • A N o t i c e o f D i s c o n n e c t i o n f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t t h a t t h e b a l a n c e d u e o n t h e a c c o u n t i s $ 2 7 1 1 • A b a n k i n g t r a n s a c t i o n s l i p f r o m B a n k B , d a t e d t o t h e h y d r o p r o v i d e r . • A c o p y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s o u t s t a n d i n g h y d r o b i s d u e F e b r u a r y 6 , 2 0 1 4 a n d t h a t t h e l a s t p a y 2 0 1 3 . T h e f e e f o r h y d r o u s a g e f o r t h e p e r i o d $ 1 4 2 6 . 3 9 . A s t a m p f r o m B a n k B o n t h e h y d r p a y m e n t o f $ 2 0 0 . 0 0 . • A c o p y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s h y d r o b i l l , d a t e d O c O c t o b e r 3 1 , 2 0 1 3 a n d t h a t p a y m e n t s w e r e m $ 7 0 . 0 0 o n S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 3 . T h e f e e f o r t o O c t o b e r 7 , 2 0 1 3 w a s $ 3 8 7 . 9 1 . • A b a n k i n g t r a n s a c t i o n s l i p f r o m B a n k B , d a t e d t o t h e h y d r o p r o v i d e r . • A c o p y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s h y d r o b i l l , d a t e d N o D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 3 a n d t h a t t h r e e p a y m e n t s o a n d O c t o b e r 2 8 , 2 0 1 3 . T h e f e e f o r h y d r o u s a 8 , 2 0 1 3 w a s $ 2 9 0 . 4 3 . T w o s t a m p s f r o m B a n k a n d D e c e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 3 , i n d i c a t i n g p a y m e n t s • A N o t i c e o f D i s c o n n e c t i o n f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t ' t h a t t h e b a l a n c e d u e o n t h e a c c o u n t i s $ 2 8 0 5 • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s R e q u e s t f o r R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n a p p e l l a n t a t t a c h e d c o p i e s o f t h e d o c u m e n t s n a t t a c h e d , i f a d d i t i o n a l i n f o i s r e q u i r e d p l e a s e c A s s e t o u t i n t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , t h e m i n i s t A P P E A L # I a t w o p a r e n t f a m i l y w i t h o n e d e p e n d e n t c h i l d . t h e m i n i s t r y t h a t h e w a s i n e l i g i b l e f o r t h e c r i s i s r e q u e s t e d r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h a t d e c i s i o n o n e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n c o n s i s t e d o f : t y a t B a n k A , f r o m D e c e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u a r y 7 . ' s h y d r o p r o v i d e r , d a t e d O c t o b e r 1 0 , 2 0 1 3 , s t a t i n g . 0 5 . O c t o b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 , i n d i c a t i n g a p a y m e n t o f $ 2 0 0 i l l , d a t e d J a n u a r y 1 4 , 2 0 1 4 , s t a t i n g t h a t $ 2 8 0 5 . 7 1 m e n t m a d e w a s f o r $ 4 0 0 . 0 0 o n D e c e m b e r 2 4 , o f D e c e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 3 t o J a n u a r y 9 , 2 0 1 4 w a s o b i l l , d a t e d J a n u a r y 2 2 , 2 0 1 4 , i n d i c a t e s a t o b e r 7 , 2 0 1 3 , s t a t i n g t h a t $ 2 7 1 1 . 0 5 i s d u e a d e w a s f o r $ 2 0 0 . 0 0 o n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 a n d h y d r o u s a g e f o r t h e p e r i o d o f S e p t e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 3 O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 3 , i n d i c a t i n g a p a y m e n t o f $ 2 0 0 v e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 , s t a t i n g t h a t $ 2 5 6 3 . 7 1 i s d u e f $ 2 0 0 . 0 0 w e r e m a d e o n O c t o b e r 1 5 , O c t o b e r 2 1 g e f o r t h e p e r i o d o f O c t o b e r 7 , 2 0 1 3 t o N o v e m b e r B o n t h e h y d r o b i l l , d a t e d N o v e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 o f $ 2 0 0 . 0 0 a n d $ 4 0 0 . 0 0 , r e s p e c t i v e l y . s h y d r o p r o v i d e r , d a t e d J a n u a ry 2 2 , 2 0 1 4 , s t a t i n g . 7 1 . ( R F R ) d a t e d F e b r u a r y 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 t o w h i c h t h e o t e d a b o v e a n d w r o t e i n S e c t i o n 3 , " S e e a l l m e . " r v s t a t e s t h a t t h e i r o f f i c e c o n t a c t e d t h e h v d r o
p r o v i d e r a n d w a s i n f o r m e d t h a t t h e t o t a l a m o u n t r e $ 2 8 0 5 . 7 1 a n d i f t h e a p p e l l a n t p a y s $ 2 6 7 5 . 7 1 t h e e q A l t e r n a t i v e l y , i f t h e a p p e l l a n t p a y s $ 3 3 9 0 . 9 3 t h e E P t h a t t h e c o m b i n e d f a m i l y i n c o m e i s $ 2 1 7 3 . 3 8 w h i c h c h i l d t a x b e n e f i t / f a m i l y b o n u s . T h e m i n i s t r y s t a t e s t c u r r e n t o u t s t a n d i n g a c c o u n t w i t h t h e h y d r o p r o v i d e a n d r a t h e r a n o n g o i n g i s s u e d u e t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a i l p a r t o f t h e p r e v i o u s l y a r r a n g e d E P P . A d d i t i o n a l l y t h r e t r o a c t i v e p a y m e n t f r o m c h i l d t a x b e n e f i t / f a m i l y b o d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t o t h e r r e s o u r c e s w e r e a v a i l a b l e b i l l . I n h i s s i g n e d N o t i c e o f A p p e a l t h e a p p e l l a n t w r o t e t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n b e c a u s e h e t h i n k s t h a t t h e T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t a t t e n d t h e h e a r i n g . H a v i n g c o h e a r i n g , t h e p a n e l p r o c e e d e d w i t h t h e h e a r i n g p u r s T h e m i n i s t r y r e l i e d p r i m a r i l y o n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d A P P E A L # I q u i r e d t o k e e p t h e h y d r o c o n n e c t e d w o u l d b e u a l p a y m e n t p l a n ( E P P ) w i l l b e $ 4 7 8 m o n t h l y . P w i l l b e $ 4 1 3 . 0 0 m o n t h l y . T h e m i n i s t r y s t a t e s i n c l u d e s i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e , w o r k e a r n i n g s a n d h a t t h e r e a s o n f o r d e n i a l i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r i s n o t a n u n e x p e c t e d e x p e n s e o r i t e m o f n e e d u r e t o m a k e t h e m o n t h l y p a y m e n t s o f $ 4 2 1 , a s e m i n i s t r y s t a t e s 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 u s o f $ 2 8 7 5 . 0 0 o n N o v e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 , a n d w e r e n o t u s e d t o p a y t h e o u t s t a n d i n g h y d r o h a t h e d i s a g r e e d w i t h t h e m i n i s t r y ' s m i n i s t r y i s n o t r e a l l y s e e i n g w h a t h e i s a s k i n g f o r . n f i r m e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t i f i e d o f t h e u a n t t o E A A s e c t i o n 8 6 ( b ) . e c i s i o n a n d p r o v i d e d n o n e w i n f o r m a t i o n .
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 o n 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 p a y a n o u t s t a n d i n g h y d r o b i l l w a s r e a s o n a b l y s u p p o a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e a p p l i c a b l e l e g i s l a t i o n i n t h e c i r c u m T h e r e l e v a n t s e c t i o n s o f t h e l e g i s l a t i o n a r e a s f o l l o w C r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t 5 9 ( 1 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y p r o v i d e a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t t o o r f o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e i f ( a ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t o r a p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t r e q u o b t a i n a n i t e m u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d a n d i s u n a b l e t o r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e f a m i l y u n i t , a n d ( b ) t h e m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s t h a t f a i l u r e t o m e e t t h e e x ( i ) i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o f ( i i ) r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d u n d e r t h e C h i l d , F a m i l y ( 2 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y b e p r o v i d e d o n l y f o r t h e c a l e n d a r s u p p l e m e n t i s m a d e . ( 3 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y n o t b e p r o v i d e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e ( a ) a s u p p l e m e n t d e s c r i b e d i n S c h e d u l e C , o r ( b ) a n y o t h e r h e a l t h c a r e g o o d s o r s e r v i c e s . ( 4 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t p r o v i d e d f o r f o o d , s h e l t e r o r c l o t h i n g ( a ) i f f o r f o o d , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e p r o f a m i l y u n i t , { b ) i f f o r s h e l t e r , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e p ( i ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t ' s a c t u a l s h e l t e r c o s t , a n d ( i i ) t h e m a x i m u m s e t o u t i n s e c t i o n 4 o f S c h e d u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h e f a m i l y u n i t , a n d ( c ) i f f o r c l o t h i n g , t h e a m o u n t t h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d m ( i ) $ 1 0 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n t a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t , a n d ( i i ) $ 4 0 0 f o r t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n t h e 1 2 c a l e n d a r c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . ( 5 ) T h e c u m u l a t i v e a m o u n t o f c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t s t h a t m a y b e t h e a m o u n t c a l c u l a t e d u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n { 6 ) . ( 6 ) I n t h e c a l e n d a r m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o r r e q u e s t ( 5 ) i s c a l c u l a t e d b y m u l t i p l y i n g b y 2 t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t o f p r o v i d e d f o r t h e m o n t h u n d e r S c h e d u l e A o r S c h e d u l e D t o a f ( 7 ) D e s p i t e s u b s e c t i o n ( 4 ) ( b ) o r ( 5 ) o r b o t h , a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n ( a ) f u e l f o r h e a t i n g ; ( b ) f u e l f o r c o o k i n g m e a l s ; ( c ) w a t e r ; ( d ) h y d r o . ( B . C . R e g . 1 2 / 2 0 0 3 )A P P E A L # I i o n t o d e n y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t t o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e o r w a s a r e a s o n a b l e s t a n c e s o f t h e a p p e l l a n t . s : a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t i s e l i g i b l e f o r i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o r i r e s t h e s u p p l e m e n t t o m e e t a n u n e x p e c t e d e x p e n s e o r m e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e n o p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n a n y p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t , o r a n d C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e A c t . m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o r r e q u e s t f o r t h e o f o b t a i n i n g i s s u b j e c t t o t h e f o l l o w i n g l i m i t a t i o n s : v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s $ 2 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n i n t h e r o v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s t h e s m a l l e r o f u l e A o r T a b l e 2 o f S c h e d u l e D , a s a p p l i c a b l e , f o r a f a m i l y u s t n o t e x c e e d t h e s m a l l e r o f h e 1 2 c a l e n d a r m o n t h p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g t h e d a t e o f m o n t h p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g t h e d a t e o f a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t i n a y e a r m u s t n o t e x c e e d f o r t h e s u p p l e m e n t i s m a d e , t h e a m o u n t u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e t h a t m a y b e a m i l y u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h e f a m i l y u n i t . t m a y b e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g :
APPEAL# I Whether the expense is unexpected or whether the request is required to obtain.an item unexpectedly needed The appellant does not address whether the bill was unexpected in his Notice of Appeal and did not attend the hearing. The ministry's position, as set out in the reconsideration decision, is that the information does not establish that there was an unexpected expense, or that a supplement was required to purchase an item unexpectedly needed. The ministry states that the outstanding $2805.7 1 is the result of the bill accumulating over time due to the appellant's failure to pay the monthly EPP amount of $421.00, and appears to be an ongoing issue. The panel finds that the evidence establishes that the outstanding hydro bill had been accumulating over a period of months due to failure to meet the monthly EPP amount of $421.00; therefore, the panel finds that the ministry's decision, that the appellant's request for a crisis supplement was not for an unexpected expense or to obtain an item unexpectedly needed as required by EAR section 59, was reasonable. Whether resources available The ministry's position is that the appellant had received a retroactive payment from child tax credit/family bonus in November 2013 for $2875.00 and these funds were not applied to the outstanding hydro bill; however, it has not been established that these funds were readily available to the appellant, confirming that alternate resources were available, therefore the ministry is satisfied that this criterion has been met. Imminent danger to health The ministry's is satisfied that the failure to obtain electricity will result in imminent danger to the appellant or his family due to current weather conditions, therefore the ministry is satisfied that this criterion has been met. Conclusion In conclusion, the panel finds that the ministry's decision to deny the appellant a crisis supplement to pay an outstanding hydro bill, because he did not meet the criteria under Section 59 of the EAR, specifically that there is no evidence that this was an unexpected expense, was reasonably supported by the evidence and a reasonable application of the legislation in the circumstances of the appellant. The panel thus confirms the ministry's decision.
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.