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 S o c i a l r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n o f D e c e m b e r 3 0 , 2 0 1 3 w h u n e a r n e d i n c o m e , i n t h e f o r m o f r e t r o a c t i v e E m p l o y l e g i s l a t e d l i m i t a n d a c c o r d i n g l y w a s i n e l i g i b l e f o r D e E m p l o y m e n t A s s i s t a n c e P e r s o n s W i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s R S c h e d u l e s A a n d B o f t h e E A P W D R s p e c i f y t h e a m t o e l i g i b l e r e c i p i e n t s . T h e m i n i s t r y h e l d t h a t r e t r o a c f o r " o t h e r a w a r d s " s e t o u t i n S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 P A R T D R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b 2 4 , S c h e d u l e A a n d S c h e d u l e B , s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) . E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 ID e v e l o p m e n t a n d S o c i a l I n n o v a t i o n ( t h e m i n i s t r y ) e r e i n t h e m i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h e a p p e l l a n t h a d m e n t I n s u r a n c e ( E l ) p a y m e n t s , i n e x c e s s o f t h e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e p u r s u a n t t o e g u l a t i o n ( E A P W D R ) S e c t i o n 9 . S e c t i o n 2 4 a n d o u n t o f d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e t h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d t i v e E l p a y m e n t s d i d n o t f a l l u n d e r t h e e x e m p t i o n ) ( c ) . i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n ( E A P W D R ) S e c t i o n s 1 , 9 a n d
P A R T E S u m m a r y o f F a c t s W i t h t h e c o n s e n t o f t h e p a r t i e s , t h i s h e a r i n g w a s c o t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e A c t . 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 r y a t t h e t i m e o f r e c o • T h e a p p e l l a n t h a s b e e n a s o l e r e c i p i e n t o f d i o f h e r f i l e , r e c e i v i n g m o n t h l y d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a • O n O c t o b e r 9 , 2 0 1 3 t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e d r e t o t a l i n g $ 2 , 1 7 5 ; t h e m i n i s t r y b e c a m e a w a r e o a p p e l l a n t b y v o i c e m e s s a g e o n N o v e m b e r 1 4 a p p e l l a n t ' s D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 a s s i s t a n c e . • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a d v o c a t e w r o t e t o t h e m i n i s t r 2 0 1 3 d i s p u t i n g t h e d e d u c t i o n o f r e t r o a c t i v e E a s s i s t a n c e , a r g u i n g t h a t t h e m o n e y s h o u l d b e t h e E A P W D R . • T h e E l p a y m e n t s r e c e i v e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t c n o t r e c e i v i n g d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e , i n p a r t i c u l a D e c e m b e r 1 , 2 0 1 2 . • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s 2 0 1 2 E l c l a i m w a s i n i t i a l l y d e r e c t i f i c a t i o n o f e r r o r s m a d e b y a p r i o r e m p l o y a p p e l l a n t . • T h e E l p a y m e n t s w e r e d e p o s i t e d i n t o t h e a p p c o n s i s t e d o f 8 s e p a r a t e d e p o s i t s , a s c o n f i r m e s t a t e m e n t f o r O c t o b e r 9 , 2 0 1 3 . • N o D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 a s s i s t a n c e w a s p a i d t o t h t h i s b y t e l e p h o n e o n N o v e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 . • A 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 w a s m a d e b y t h r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n w a s c o m p l e t e d o n D T h e a p p e l l a n t f i l e d a N o t i c e o f A p p e a l o f t h e r e c o n s i a n d A s s i s t a n c e A p p e a l T r i b u n a l o n J a n u a r y 1 7 , 2 0 1 T h e w r i t t e n s u b m i s s i o n s o f t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d t h e m i n e v i d e n c e . T h e s e w i l l b e a d d r e s s e d u n d e r P a r t F b e E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )r n d u c t e d i n w r i t i n g p u r s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 2 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f n s i d e r a t i o n i n c l u d e d : s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e s i n c e a n A p r i l 2 0 1 3 r e o p e n i n g n c e o f $ 9 0 6 . 4 2 . t r o a c t i v e e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e b e n e f i t s ( E l ) f t h i s o n N o v e m b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 a n d a d v i s e d t h e , 2 0 1 3 t h a t t h i s w o u l d b e d e d u c t e d f r o m t h e y o n N o v e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 a n d N o v e m b e r 2 6 , l b e n e f i t s f r o m t h e D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 d i s a b i l i t y d e a l t w i t h u n d e r S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n ( 7 ) ( 1 ) ( c ) o f o v e r e d a p e r i o d o f t i m e w h e n t h e a p p l i c a n t w a s r , t h e 1 5 w e e k p e r i o d o f A u g u s t 1 9 , 2 0 1 2 e n d i n g n i e d b y t h e E l C o m m i s s i o n , a n d f o l l o w i n g t h e e r , t h e c l a i m w a s p a i d o u t r e t r o a c t i v e l y t o t h e e l l a n t ' s b a n k a c c o u n t o n O c t o b e r 9 , 2 0 1 3 a n d d b y a p h o t o c o p y o f t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s b a n k e a p p e l l a n t , a n d t h e a d v o c a t e w a s a d v i s e d o f e a p p e l l a n t o n N o v e m b e r 2 8 , 2 0 1 3 , a n d a e c e m b e r 3 0 , 2 0 1 3 b y t h e m i n i s t r y . d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , r e c e i v e d b y t h e E m p l o y m e n t 4 . A w r i t t e n h e a r i n g w a s r e q u e s t e d . i s t r y w e n t t o a r g u m e n t a n d c o n t a i n e d n o n e w l o w .
PART F -Reasons for Pa nel Decision Th e issue in this case is the reasonable ness of the ministry's decisi on to deny the app e llant d isab il ity a ssi sta n ce for the mo nth of December 2 013. T h e decision was based on documentation establishin g th a t the appellan t receive d retr o active El payments in October 2 0 1 3 , H xcee di n g her elig ibility f or di s abi lity a s sistance i n December, 2 01 3 . Speci fically, t he Panel must dete rmine whe ther the Mi nistry's d ecisio n to deny the E l paymen ts as e xempt income under EAPWDR Schedule B, sec t ion 7(1)( c) is reasona bly su ppor t ed by the evidence or a reasona ble application of the applicable enactment in the circumstan ces of the cl ai man t . Sectio n 1 of the EAPWDR offer s the following de finit ion of unearned income: 1(1) In this regulation: " un earned in come" means any income that is not earned income, and inc l ud es, witho ut l i m i tation, money or value re c e ived from any of the follo wing: [a list of nume rous types of payment, including] (d) insuran ce ben efi ts, ex cep t insur ance pai d as c ompensation fo r a destroyed asset; (g) em pl oyment i ns urance; (t ) any o th er fi nancial awar ds o r compe nsa tio n; ( w) ta x refun ds. S ection 24 of the Regul ati on e xp l ains h ow the am o unt of d i sa b ility assista n c e is c alcula t ed; it reads: 24. Disabil ity assistance m ay b e pro vid e d to or f o r a famil y u ni t f or a ca lend a r m onth, i n an amou nt t hat is no t more t han (a) the amount d etermi ne d under Schedul e A, m inu s (b ) the family unit' s ne x t i n c o m e d eter m ine d und er Sched ule B. Se c tio n 1 of Schedu le B o f th e R egulation goes on to s p ecify ho w t he min istry c alculates n et i n c o m e . I t st a te s in pa rt: 1 . Whe n ca lc ula ting the net income of a fam ily unit for the purpos es of secti on 24(b) [ amo unt o f d i sabi lity assi stance ] o f t hi s regula t ion, (d) a ll une a r ned i nc ome must b e in c l uded , e x c ept t h e ded uction s perm itted und er s ection 6 a nd any i nc ome ex empt ed und er s ec t ions 7 and 9 . Secti o n 6, 7 and 9 do not list e mploy ment insurance as an allowable exemption. Section 7(1 ) (c ) o f the EAP WDR co n cerns exemptions to unearned income, and reads, in part, (1) The following unearne d income is exempt: (c) a criminal injury compensation award or other award except that the amount would cause the fa mily un i t's a ssets to ex ceed, at the time the award is received, the limit applicable under section 10 [asset limits] of this regula tion ... The appellant's position w a s set o ut in a written su b mi ssion dated January 30 , 2013 : • The retroa c tive E l a ward rela tes t o an El c laim for the period August 19 th rough December 1 , 2012; during this timeframe the appellant did not receive any form of welfare benefits. • Th e app e llant agrees with the ministry's finding that the retroactive award falls under paragraph (g ) (employment insurance) of t h e definiti on of "unearned income" in section 1 of the EAPWDR. • The aooellant aqrees with the ministrv findings that the retroactive El award must be treated as EMT 003( 10106/01)
u n e a r n e d i n c o m e i n t h e m o n t h i n w h i c h i t w a w a s i s s u e d . • T h e a p p e l l a n t m a i n t a i n s h e r p o s i t i o n t h a t t h i s u n d e r s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) o f S c h e d u l e B o f t h e E • M i n i s t r y p o l i c y c o n c e r n i n g S e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) p r e x e m p t e d a s u n e a r n e d i n c o m e ; t h i s i n c l u d e s i s d i r e c t l y a n a l o g o u s t o o t h e r m o n i e s p a i d o u u n r e a s o n a b l e a n d c o n t r a d i c t o , y t o t r e a t t h e a • A p l a i n r e a d i n g o f s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) d o e s n o t d e u n d e r p a r a g r a p h ( t ) o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f u n e a r t o b e e x e m p t e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) o f S c h T h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e m i n i s t r y , a s s e t o u t i n t h e r e c o n s p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e l u m p s u m r e t r o a c t i v e E l p a y m e n t s S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n ( 7 ) ( 1 ) ( c ) , b u t f o u n d t h a t b e c a u s " e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e " ( g ) a s u n e . a r n e d i n c o r n e , a r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e r e t r o a c t i v e n a t u r e o f t l 1 e p a y m e n t , i n c o m e . A s t h e $ 2 , 1 7 5 . 0 0 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 3 n e t i n c o m r a t e , n o D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 a s s i s t a n c e w a s p a y a b l e t o T h e m i n i s t r y e l a b o r a t e d o n i t s p o s i t i o n i n t w o w r i t t e n M i n i s t ry s u b m i s s i o n ( w r i t t e n ) F e b r u a r y 7 , 2 0 1 4 • E l p a y m e n t s a r e c l e a r l y d e f i n e d i n s u b s e c t i o s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A P W D R . • B e c a u s e t h e s e a r e a d d r e s s e d s p e c i f i c a l l y , E o f a n y o t h e r f i n a n c i a l a w a r d s o r c o m p e n s a t i o • A s t h e i n c o m e d o e s n o t m e e t t h e d e f i n i t i o n i n a s a n " o t h e r a w a r d " u n d e r S c h e d u l e B , s e c t i o M i n i s t ry s u b m i s s i o n ( w r i t t e n ) F e b r u a r y 1 1 , 2 0 1 4 • T h e p o l i c y f o r f i n a n e i a l a w a r d s a p p l i e s t o o n e t i m e a w a r d , b u t m u l t i p l e , c o n s i s t i n g o f m o n t h • F u n d s a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d a n ' a w a r d ' s i m p l y b s u m . P a n e l d e c i s i o n T h e a p p e l l a n t a g r e e s w i t h t h e m i n i s t r y ' s f i n d i n g t h a t ( e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e ) o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f " u n e a rn e a r g u e s t h a t i t s h o u l d b e c a p t u r e d u n d e r E A P W D R S c o m p e n s a t i o n a w a r d o r " o t h e r a w a r d " . T h e a p p e l l a n t o f a l l u n d e r p a r a g r a p h ( t ) ( a n y o t h e r f i n a n c i a l a w a r d i n c o m e " i n s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A P W D R i n o r d e r t o b e e " o t h e r a w a r d " . E m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e i s l i s t e d i n s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A a s u n e a r n e d i n c o m e . _ T h e p a n e l n o t E3 s t h a t t t i e i : e a rn E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )s r e c e i v e d , a n d n o t t h e p e r i o d o f t i m e f o r w h i c h i t u n e a rn e d i n c o m e i s e x e m p t a s a n " o t h e r a w a r d " A P W D R . o v i d e s e x a m p l e s o f o n e t i m e a w a r d s t h a t a r e i n s u r a n c e s e t t l e m e n t s . T h e r e t r o a c t i v e E l a w a r d t b a s e d o n i n s u r a n c e p r i n c i p l e s , a n d i t w a r d d i f f e r e n t l y t h a n o t h e r i n s u r a n c e s e t t l e m e n t s . f i n e " o t h e r a w a r d " a n d a l u m p s u m n e e d n o t f a l l n e d i n c o m e i n s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A P W D R i n o r d e r e d u l e B . i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s h o u l d b e e x e m p t a s a n " o t h e r a w a r d " u n d e r e S e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A P W D R s p e c i f i c a l l y l i s t s n d a s t h e r e a r e n o e x e m p t i o n s f o r E l p a y m e n t s t h e e n t i r e a m o u n t w a s t o b e c o n s i d e r e d a s e e x c e e d e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s $ 9 0 6 . 4 2 a s s i s t a n c e t h e a p p e l l a n t . s u b m i s s i o n s : n ( g ) o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f " u n e a r n e d i n c o m e " u n d e r l p a y m e n t s c a n n o t a n d d o n o t m e e t t h e d e f i n i t i o n n i n s u b s e c t i o n ( t ) . s u b s e c t i o n ( t ) , t h e i n c o m e c a n n o t b e e x e m p t e d n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) o f t h e E A P W D R . t i m e a w a r d s . T h e r e t r o a c t i v e E l w a s n o t a o n e  l y E l p a y m e n t s r e c e i v e d i n a l u m p s u m . e c a u s e t h e y a r e g i v e n t o a n a p p e l l a n t i n a l u m p t h e r e t r o a c t i v e a w a r d f a l l s u n d e r p a r a g r a p h ( g ) d i n c o m e " i n s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A P W D R b u t a l s o c h e d u l e B , s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) -" a c r i m i n a l i n j u r y t w r i t e s t h a t t h e u n e a r n e d i n c o m e d o e s n o t n e e d s o r c o m p e n s a t i o n ) o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f " u n e a r n e d x e m p t e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) a s b e i n g a n P W D R a s o n e o f t h e t y p e s o f p a y m e n t s t r e a t e d i t e m s c o r i t .:1 i 11 _ e d yv l t h i n t h e E A P W D R s e c t i o n 1
d e f i n i t i o n o f u n e a r n e d i n c o m e t h a t a r e a l s o c o n t a i n e x e m p t i o n s f o r u n e a r n e d i n c o m e . F o r e x a m p l e , a w ( n o w r e p e a l e d ) a n d i t s s u c c e s s o r t h e C r i m e V i c t i m t a x r e l a t e d a d j u s t m e n t t o C a n a d a P e n s i o n P l a n b e n o t e d t h a t e a c h e x e m p t i o n i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i d e n t i f i e d e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e b e n e f i t s w e r e i n t e n d e d t o b e t h e s a m e f a s h i o n . T h e r e i s n o E l r e l a t e d e x e m p t i o n T h e a p p e l l a n t a r g u e s t h a t m i n i s t r y i n t e r n a l p o l i c y l i s s u m t h a t i s b o t h s p e c i f i c a l l y l i s t e d u n d e r E A P W D R e x e m p t u n d e r " o t h e r a w a r d s " u n d e r S c h e d u l e B , s e E A P W D R l i s t s ( g ) " e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e " ; t h i s b r o w h e t h e r m o n t h l y o r r e t r o a c t i v e . S e c t i o n 1 o f t h e E A i m p l y i n g r e g u l a r p a y m e n t s ; t h i s i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h i n s u r a n c e s e t t l e m e n t ( a o n e t i m e p a y m e n t ) , a n d w h S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) . 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 n o t e x e m p t i n c o m e u n d e r s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) ( c ) o f S c h e d u 2 0 1 3 d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h S e c t i o d e c i s i o n i 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 a p p l i c a b l T h e P a n e l t h e r e f o r e c o n f i r m s t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d e c i s i o n E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )e d w i t h i n E A P W D H S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) -· a r d s u n d e r t h e C r i m i n a l l n j w y C o m p e n s a t i o n A c t A s s i s t a n c e P r o g r a m , a s w e l l a s t a x r e f u n d s a n d a n e f i t s a r e a d d r e s s e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) . I t i s a l s o b y n a m e , a n d i t i s r e a s o n a b l e t o e x p e c t t h a t i f e x e m p t , t h e s e w o u l d b e s p e c i f i c a l l y i d e n t i f i e d i n i n S c h e d u l e B s e c t i o n 7 ( 1 ) . t s i n s u r a n c e s e t t l e m e n t s a s a n e x a m p l e o f a l u m p s e c t i o n 1 , a n d b y p o l i c y , m a y b e c o n s i d e r e d c t i o n 7 . T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t S e c t i o n 1 o f t h e a d w o r d i n g a l l o w s f o r a l l t y p e s o f E l p a y m e n t s , P W D R l i s t s ( d ) " i n s u r a n c e b e n e f i t s " a s p l u r a l e e x e m p t i o n u n d e r m i n i s t r y p o l i c y f o r a n y i t m a y b e c a p t u r e d a s a n " o t h e r a w a r d " u n d e r i n e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e t r o a c t i v e E l p a y m e n t s a r e l e B t o t h e E A P VV D R a n d d e n i e d h e r D e c e m b e r n s 9 a n d 2 4 o f t h e E A P W D R a n d t h a t t h i s 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 c l a i m a n t . .
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.