I A P P F 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 i s i s a n a p p e a l o f 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 o f t h e M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l D 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 ( M i n i s t r y ) d a t e d F e b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 4 , i n w h i c h t h e M i n i s t r y d e n i e d t h e A p p e l l a n t i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e d u e t o f a i l u r e t o a p p l y f o r a s s i s t a n c e o n b e h a l f o f h e r e n t i r e f a m i l y u n i t , a s r e q u i r e d b y s e c t i o n 5 ( 1 ) o f 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 R e g u l a t i o n . 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 A c t ( E A A ) s e c t i o n s 1 a n d 1 . 1 . E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e R e g u l a t i o n ( E A R ) , s e c t i o n 5 . E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )
APPEAL# '. PART E -Summary of Facts With the consent of the parties, the appeal hearing was conducted in writing in accordance with s. 22(3)(b) of the Employment and Assistance Act. The information before the Ministry at reconsideration included the following documents: • A copy of the Appellant's residential tenancy agreement dated December 4, 2013 showing the tenants of the rental property to be the Appellant, her mother, and the father of the Appellant's child; • A copy of a birth registration summary for the Appellant's child indicating that the child was born in December 2013 and providing the name of the child's father; • A copy of an application for a birth certificate for the Appellant's child indicating that the child was born in December 2013 and providing the name of the child's father; • A copy of a Ministry information/documentation checklist dated September 27, 2013; and • A one-page handwritten letter from the Appellant's mother dated September 23, 2013 in which she wrote that the Appellant is renting a 1-bedroom suite in her mother's basement and providing information about the amount of rent and utilities. At reconsideration, the Ministry also had the appellant's written submission dated January 30, 2014, in which the Appellant wrote that she is not in a relationship with the father of her child. She wrote that the father of her child rents the second bedroom of the apartment in which she lives with the child, that she pays half the rent, plus half the cost of utilities, and pays for her own food and expenses. She wrote that she takes care of her child full-time. She wrote, "I could not find a suitable and affordable home to live in for my child and I in such a short time before my child was born; therefore I had to take on a roommate; someone I can somewhat trust with my belongings and my child. I have no idea how much my roommate makes, all I care about is that his portion of the rent and hydro & cable are paid on time until I find a new roommate in the near future." The Appellant also wrote in her submissions that "at no time did I mention that my roommate provides me with any financial assistance for me or my child. He does not provide any financial assistance except his portion of rent, cable, hydro. My roommate (child's father) has not been here through my whole pregnancy or living with me at any time before my child was born, therefore we are not in a relationship." In her hand-written submission in her Notice of Appeal, the Appellant wrote," ... It's morally wrong that [the Ministry] will not provide me assistance for myself and my newborn baby based on the fact that I was honest about receiving a pack of diapers from my baby's father. ... My roommate who is the baby's father will not let me live there for free and he will not support me financially." The Ministry relied on the reconsideration decision, which states that the Appellant applied for income assistance as a single person in September 2013 and indicated in her application that she was renting her mother's 1-bedroom basement suite and that her mother, her husband and their children lived upstairs from the Appellant. The Appellant reported to the Ministry on January 6, 2014 that she gave birth in late December 2013 and she was moving in with the baby's father, reporting that they would have separate rooms and are not financially dependent on each other. The Ministry concluded that the father on the birth registration and birth certificate provided by the Appellant is the same person as the other tenant on the residential tenancy agreement (although his last name is different). The Appellant does not dispute this. EMT 003(10/06/01)
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 ry n o t e s M i n i s t r y t h a t t h e f a t h e r o f h e r b a b y i s h e r r o o m m a t o p t i o n o f a d d i n g t h e f a t h e r o f h e r b a b y t o h e r i n c o m w a n t t o a s h e i s w o r k i n g . " T h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e M i n i s t r y t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t m o v e h e r c h i l d i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e c h i l d w a s b o r n , t h a t t o b e w i t h h e r c h i l d , a n d s h e a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t h e t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t t a k e s c a r e o f t h e c h i l d . T h e r e c o i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d , t h e m i n i s t e r d i d n o t d e e m t h e s p o u s e s u n d e r t h e l e g i s l a t i o n . I n t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o A p p e l l a n t ' s r o o m m a t e " h a s a p a r e n t a l r o l e w i t h [ h e d e t e r m i n e s h e m e e t s t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f a d e p e n d a n t h a d n o t i n c l u d e d t h e f a t h e r o f h e r c h i l d w h o w a s h e w a s i n 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 b e c a u s e s h e f f a m i l y u n i t . E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )'. A P P E A L # t h a t o n J a n u a r y 2 9 , 2 0 1 4 t h e A p p e l l a n t a d v i s e d t h e e , b u t w h e n t h e M i n i s t ry g a v e t h e A p p e l l a n t t h e e a s s i s t a n c e f i l e , s h e " a d v i s e d t h a t [ s h e ] d i d n o t c i s i o n a l s o s t a t e s t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t p r o v i d e d d o u t o f h e r p a r e n t ' s h o m e t o l i v e w i t h t h e f a t h e r o f h e r c h i l d ' s f a t h e r i s t h e o n l y p e r s o n s h e c a n t r u s t a s s i s t s w i t h d i a p e r s a n d f o r m u l a , i s e m p l o y e d a n d n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n s t a t e s t h a t b a s e d o n t h e A p p e l l a n t a n d t h e f a t h e r o f h e r c h i l d t o b e n d e c i s i o n , t h e M i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e r ] d e p e n d e n t c h i l d . A s s u c h , t h e m i n i s t e r . " T h e M i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t a s t h e A p p e l l a n t r d e p e n d a n t i n h e r a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a s s i s t a n c e , s h e a i l e d t o a p p l y f o r a s s i s t a n c e o n b e h a l f o f h e r e n t i r e
: APPEAL# PART F Reasons for Panel Decision The issue on this appeal is whether the Ministry's determination that the appellant is not eligible for income assistance because she has failed to apply on behalf of her entire family unit (including the father of her child as her dependant), as required by section 5(1) of the EAR, is reasonable. Applicable legislation Section 5(1) of the EAR sets out the applicant requirements for income assistance, providing that "for a family unit to be eligible for income assistance or a supplement, an adult in the family unit must apply for the income assistance or supplement on behalf of the family unit unless (a) the family unit does not include an adult, or (b) the spouse of an adult applicant has not reached 19 years of age, in which case that spouse must apply with the adult applicant." In sections 1 and 1.1 of the EAA, the definitions of "dependant", "family unit" and "spouse" are set out as follows: Interpretation 1 (1) in this Act: "dependant", in relation to a person, means anyone who resides with the person and who (a) Is the spouse of the person, (b) Is a dependent child of the person, or (c) Indicates a parental responsibility for the person's dependent child; "family unit" means an applicant or a recipient and his or her dependants; "spouse" has the meaning in section 1.1; Meaning of "spouse" 1.1( 1) Two persons, including persons of the same gender, are spouses of each other for the purposes of this Act if (a) they are married to each other, or (b) they acknowledge to the minister that they are residing together in a marriage-like relationship. (2) Two persons who reside together, including persons of the same gender, are spouses of each other for the purposes of this Act if (a) they have resided together for at least (i) the previous 3 consecutive months, or (ii) 9 of the previous 12 months, and (b) the minister is satisfied that the relationship demonstrates (i) financial dependence or interdependence, and (ii) social and familial interdependence, consistent with a marriage-like relationship. The Appellant's submissions indicate she and her child live in the same apartment with the father of her child and both adults pay an equal portion of the rent and split the utility bills and purchase their own food. The Appellant indicates that she looks after the child full-time, but she does not dispute that she shares an apartment with the father of her child and that this is because she can trust him with their child. In its reconsideration decision, the Ministry noted that the Appellant and the father of her child were not deemed to be spouses under subs. 1.1 (1) or 1.1 (2) of the EAA. However, the Ministrv determined that the father of the Appellant's child is a "dependant" under section 1 (1\ of the EAA T003(10/06/01)
E A A b e c a u s e h e i s i n a p a r e n t a l r o l e t o t h e A p p e l l a S u b s e c t i o n 5 ( 1 ) o f t h e E A R r e q u i r e s t h a t , i n a p p l y i n f o r i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o n t h e b a s i s o f h e r " f a m i l y u o f t h e E A A , t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s " f a m i l y u n i t " m e a n s t h e a n y o n e w h o r e s i d e s w i t h t h e A p p e l l a n t a n d w h o i n d d e p e n d e n t c h i l d . T h e A p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t d i s p u t e t a n d t h a t h e h a s a p a r e n t a l r o l e f o r h e r d e p e n d e n t c t h e c a r e o f t h e i r c h i l d a n d t h a t h e h a s p r o v i d e d s o m T h e a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t p r o v i d e d t h i s p a n e l ( o r t h e M n o t i n d i c a t e a p a r e n t a l r o l e f o r h e r d e p e n d e n t c h i l d A c c o r d i n g l y , 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 ' s d e t e i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e b e c a u s e s h e h a s f a i l e d t o a p p l y f a t h e r o f h e r c h i l d a s h e r d e p e n d a n t ) , a s r e q u i r e d b t h e e v i d e n c e a n d 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 e l l a n t . 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 E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I n t ' s d e p e n d e n t c h i l d . g f o r i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e , t h e A p p e l l a n t m u s t a p p l y n i t . " A s p r o v i d e d i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n s u n d e r s u b s . 1 ( 1 ) A p p e l l a n t a n d h e r d e p e n d a n t s a n d t h i s i n c l u d e s i c a t e s a p a r e n t a l r o l e f o r t h e A p p e l l a n t ' s h a t s h e l i v e s w i t h t h e f a t h e r o f h e r d e p e n d e n t c h i l d h i l d a s s h e a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t s h e t r u s t s h i m w i t h e n e c e s s i t i e s f o r t h e c h i l d ( d i a p e r s a n d f o r m u l a ) . i n i s t r y ) e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e f a t h e r o f h e r c h i l d d o e s . r m i n a t i o n t h a t t h e A p p e l l a n t i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r o n b e h a l f o f h e r e n t i r e f a m i l y u n i t ( i n c l u d i n g t h e y s e c t i o n 5 ( 1 ) o f t h e E A R , i s r e a s o n a b l e b a s e d o n a p p 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 y ' s 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.