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 d a t e d J a n u a r y 2 , 2 0 1 4 , w h i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e d u e t o a f a i l u r e t o e n t e r i n t o a n E m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n t h a t p r e v e n t e d h e r f r o m e n t e r i n g 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 ) . 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 9 E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I 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 ) i c h h e l d 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 m p l o y m e n t P l a n ( E P ) o r p r o v i d e c o n f i r m a t i o n o f a i n t o a n E P a s p u r s u a n t t o S e c t i o n 9 o f t h e
PART E -Summ a r o f Fa cts The following eviden c e wa s be for e the Mi nistry at th 1) Request for R e considera tion signed and dated December 17, 2013, whi • That the appe llant d i d not h a ve time left on make the app ointm ent and had no bus fare; • It a l so snow ed in her area, she tried to walk but • Sh e has m edical p ro b lems ( e .g . stomach ministry 's l etters which advised her of the appoi 2) A letter to the appellant from the ministry dated information and planning session to be held inf o rms the app e llant that she c an call to reschedule the appo t h at af te r this m ee ting sh e wil l meet one on one with a a nd a n up-to-da t e EP is a req ui r e m ent f o r ongoing elig 3) A le t ter to t h e appell ant from t h e mini st ry d a ted she fa il e d to attend the inform a t ion ses si on on November atten d a new sessi on on Dec e mb er 1 2, 201 3 call to resc he d u le the a ppointm ent if s he canno ongoi n g eligi bility for assistanc e , and if she d b e delaye d . 4 ) A l etter to th e a ppe llan t f rom the m inis t ry da ted E m ploymen t an d Assist ance che qu e will be h a n d that s h e m u st en t er into an EP to be elig 5) A l etter to t h e appellant from the min istry date f a i l ed to me e t t h e legislati v e req ui re m ent s et o incom e a ssist a nc e. M inistry c li ents who are expecte Sin c e she has not done this, she is no longer eligible fo In the Notice of Ap p e al, signed and dated January 8, 2014, the appellant states that she did not rec eive any ma H as her mail box was broke n i nto; this incl st at es t hat she did not h a ve a telephone to cancel her appointmen could not walk with her disability (stomach and back pain) as she c At the he a rin g, the appe llant rei t er ate d what w as said in her request for reconsideration and notice of ap p eal. To this she added that: • Sh e had no minutes left on her phone so she co • She attempted walking to the ministry office, which is a mile away, bu walking half a block as it was too cold and she does not have proper winter clothes. Although it did not snow that day, there was still snow on the ground and she was not going to risk the ice and snow. The ministry gave her a $50 crisis supplement for clothes on November 12, 2013 with which she bought boots; • �� T h El t11i11 L� ry staff has J e fJ eatedl y disres fl cecc'"-- t e � d-=--'--'h EAAT 003(1 0/06/01) I APPEA L# e time of recons i deration: ch s tat es the following: her phone to ca l l the offi c e, she couldn't it was t oo c old so she tur ned bac k; and back pain) and on ly received one of the n tments. O c tober 2 8, 2 013 advi s i ng h er o f an Wed n esday, November 27, 2013. The letter intm en t if s h e cannot attend and w o rker to c rea t e her p erso nali zed EP ibility. Dece mb er 2, 20 1 3 ad v i s i ng he r th at because 27, 2 013 she h a s b e en schedu le d to . T he lett er inform s the app ella n t t ha t she ca n t atte n d , an up -t o-date EP is a r e qu ire me n t f o r o es n o t h a ve an u p -to-d at e EP her c h eque may De c ember 2 , 2 013 stat i n g th at he r eld at the office un ti l an EP rev i ew is co mp leted ibl e to r eceiv e cont in u e d as sistance. d Decemb er 12, 2013 advising her that she h as u t in Secti on 9 of t h e EA A for eli g i b il ity f or d to work a re req uired to en t e r i n to an EP. r income assistance. h udes t he December 1i mail. S h e f urth er t or bus fare to go to the office, and ould slip on the snow. u ld n o t contact the ministry; t had to turn b ack a fter cc e '--'- r; ____.
• S h e u s e d h e r l a n d l o r d ' s p h o n e t o c a l l o n D e g o t t h r o u g h t o a w o r k e r b u t w a s n o t a d v i s e d • O n c e s h e m a d e i t t o t h e o f f i c e , o n e W o r k e r t a n o t h e r w o r k e r t o o k i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m h e r p h m i n u t e s t o c a l l t h e m i n i s t r y o f f i c e ; • F o r t h e p a s t t w o m o n t h s s h e h a s n o t r e c e i v e n u t r i t i o n a l s u p p l e m e n t t h a t s h e n e e d s f o r h e • S h e r e c e i v e d b o t h D e c e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3 l e t t e r s m a i l b o x w a s b r o k e n i n t o ; l a t e r s h e s t a t e d t h a t h a t a d v i s e d h e r t h a t h e r c h e q u e w i l l b e h e l d t h a t a d v i s e d h e r o f h e r r e s c h e d u l e d a p p o i n t m • S h e d i d n o t r e c e i v e t h e l e t t e r d a t e d D e c e m b l e t t e r w a s n o t r e c e i v e d ; • H e r c o m m u n i t y m a i l b o x w a s b r o k e n i n t o a p p A t t h e h e a r i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t s u b m i t t e d a n u n d a t e d c i t e s p r o b l e m s o f c o m m u n i t y m a i l b o x b r e a k i n s i n a d u e t o t h e v o l u m e o f b r e a k i n s , a s o f J a n u a r y 2 0 , 2 a r e a a n d r e s i d e n c e a r e r e q u i r e d t o d r i v e s e v e r a l k i l m a i l . 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 s h e w a s " o n a m e d i c ( P e r s o n w i t h P e r s i s t e n t M u l t i p l e B a r r i e r s ) , s t i l l i s s u p s u b m i t t e d m e d i c a l d o c u m e n t s r e g a r d i n g h e r P P M B T h i s s h o u l d a l l o w h e r P P M B q u a l i f i c a t i o n f o r t w o y e r e q u i r e d t o e n t e r i n t o a n E P . T h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h A s a r e s u l t o f t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s , l a s t y e a r , s h e s p e n t s t a t e d t h a t h e r p r o b l e m s a r e s o s e v e r e t h a t s h e i s u t i m e w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o g o t o t h e b a t h r o o m . A t t h e h e a r i n g , t h e m i n i s t r y r e l i e d o n i t s r e c o n s i d e r a • B o t h D e c e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3 l e t t e r s w o u l d l i k e l y h • T h e D e c e m b e r c h e q u e w o u l d b e h e l d b y t h e • T h e a p p e l l a n t w a s m a d e a w a r e o f h e r N o v e m o n N o v e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 w h e n s h e c a m e i n f o r r e f l e c t e d i n t h e m i n i s t r y ' s o r i g i n a l d e n i a l d e c i s • A l t h o u g h a p p o i n t m e n t s h a d b e e n s c h e d u l e d 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f p r e p a r i n g a n E P a n d a n E P w o u l d b e p r e p a r e d f o r h e r ; • I f t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n s t h a t r e a n d a n E P w o u l d b e d r a f t e d t o a c c o m m o d a t e • T h e d e n i a l i s n o t b a s e d o n m e d i c a l i s s u e s ; i t e s t a b l i s h a n E P . T h e m i n i s t r y h a s m a d e r e a s b e g i n t h e p r o c e s s o f E P b u t s h e f a i l e d t o d o s A t t h e h e a r i n g t h e m i n i s t r y a l s o s t a t e d t h a t i n J a n u a r a p p e l l a n t a d v i s i n g h e r t h a t h e r P P M B s t a t u s w a s b e E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 1 0 6 1 0 1 )I A P P E A L # c e m b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 , a n d a f t e r r e p e a t e d a t t e m p t s , s h e t h a t h e r a s s i s t a n c e w a s d e n i e d ; o l d h e r t h a t h e r n e x t c h e q u e w o u l d b e i s s u e d a n d o n e t h a t s h o w e d t h a t s h e d i d n o t h a v e a n y d m e d i c a l a n d p h a r m a c a r e b e n e f i t s o r h e r $ 4 5 r I r r i t a b l e B o w e l S y n d r o m e ( I B S ) ; b u t n o t h i n g p r i o r t o o r f o l l o w i n g t h a t d a t e a s h e r t s h e o n l y r e c e i v e d t h e D e c e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3 l e t t e r a t t h e o f f i c e , b u t n o t t h e D e c e m b e r 2 , 2 0 1 3 l e t t e r e n t o n D e c e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 ; e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 3 b u t h a d n o e x p l a n a t i o n f o r w h y t h a t r o x i m a t e l y a t t h e e n d o f N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 3 ; n e w s p a p e r c l i p p i n g f r o m a l o c a l n e w s p a p e r t h a t s p e c i f i c n e i g h b o u r h o o d . T h e a r t i c l e s t a t e s t h a t 0 1 4 , C a n a d a P o s t n o l o n g e r d e l i v e r s m a i l i n t h i s o m e t e r s t o a n o t h e r p a r t o f t h e c i t y t o c o l l e c t t h e i r a l l e a v e o f a b s e n c e " , o r q u a l i f i e d a s P P M B p o s e d t o b e o n P P M B q u a l i f i c a t i o n a n d t h a t s h e q u a l i f i c a t i o n t o t h e m i n i s t r y i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 . a r s ( 2 0 1 3 -2 0 1 5 ) . T h e r e f o r e s h e s h o u l d n o t b e a t s h e h a s ! B S , c h r o n i c b a c k p a i n a n d a s t h m a . 7 m o n t h s i n h o s p i t a l , f o r 3 d a y s a t a t i m e . S h e s u a l l y i n b e d a n d c a n n o t s i t f o r l o n g p e r i o d s o f t i o n d e c i s i o n a n d a d d e d t h a t : a v e b e e n s e n t t o g e t h e r i n o n e e n v e l o p e ; m i n i s t r y u n t i l t h e i s s u e i s r e s o l v e d ; b e r 2 7 , 2 0 1 3 a p p o i n t m e n t a s s h e w a s r e m i n d e d a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t f o r c l o t h e s , a n d t h i s i s i o n o n D e c e m b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 3 ; f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t o n N o v e m b e r 2 7 a n d D e c e m b e r , s h e c o u l d a t t e n d a t a m i n i s t r y o f f i c e a n y t i m e s t r i c t w o r k , t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s w o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s ; i s b e c a u s e t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t a t t e m p t t o o n a b l e e f f o r t s t o g i v e t h e a p p e l l a n t o p p o r t u n i t y t o o . y 2 0 1 3 a l e t t e r w o u l d h a v e b e e n s e n t t o t h e i n g r e v i e w e d a n d t h a t i s w h y s h e s u b m i t t ei d _ _ .
me dica l document a t ion f rom a clinic in Februa ry 20 an d denied he r continued P PMB q ualifi c ati on i n April of She res ubmitted documen ts, th is ti me fro m her own do in Jun e 20 1 3. A l e tte r w as sent adv ising he r t h at s he c o nti nue d to r eceive he r $ 45 nu triti o n al sup pl e ment she was only eligible for limite d as si stan ce . Sin ce s consid ere d a n e mp loy abl e pe rso n and required to ente Since sh e f ailed to enter i nt o an EP, sh e wa s denie A d m i ssi bi l i t y o f New Evidence The m ini stry d i d no t ob j ec t to the a dmissi bility of the new ne w oral e v i den ce. Th e panel fo und that the new spape r ar ticl e su b m itte dis c losed info rmation regar di ng the theft of ma il in h a ddre ssed in the rec ons ider at i on . A cco rdi ngly, the panel in support of inform ati o n and reco rds t h a t wer e befo a c cordan ce wi t hs. 22(4) of t h e E m p l o y men t and As Th e pa nel f o u nd that the evi d en c e reg ardin g P P M B, medical condi tions as th ey pertai n t o the iss ue of w het not in sup port of t he iss ues addr esse d in the reco ns this new e vi denc e as being in support of infor mat io n t ime o f the re con s i d eration, in a ccorda nce wi t h s . 22(4 EMT003(10/06/01) I APPE AL # 13. Th e min istry cons ider ed t hese documents 20 13 . A le tter st a tin g suc h wa s sent to her . c t or, and sh e was den i e d PP MB q u ali f i cation no longer q ualifie s for PPMB . Howev er, she un til she failed to enter in to an EP, at w hich p oint he no lo n ge r has P PM B q ua l ificatio n, she is r into an E P or is no t eligibl e for assistance. d he r assis tanc e . spap er article or rais e an obj e c t ion t o t h e d by the appel lant pr ovide d addit ional d etai l or er c ommunity, which is in s up port o f the i ssues h as adm i tte d this new in forma tion as bein g re t h e mini stry at the ti m e of recons id eration , i n sistanc e Act. her P PMB quali ficat ion or t h e appellant 's h er o r n ot she is re q uir ed to enter an EP , was ideration. A c cordin gly , t h e pa nel d id n ot admit a nd rec o rds tha t were be for e the m inis tr y at th e ) of t h e Emplo yment and Assistance Ac t.
APPEAL# I PART F -Reasons for Panel Decision The issue before the panel is the reasonableness of the ministry's reconsideration decision dated January 2, 2014, which held that the appellant is not eligible for assistance pursuant to Section 9 of the EAA. The ministry determined that the appellant failed to meet the requirements of Section 9 of the EAA by not entering into an EP, nor did she provide confirmation of a medical condition that prevented her from entering into an EP, explained to her by the ministry. Section 9 of the EAA states that: Employment plan 9 (1) For a family unit to be eligible for income assistance or hardship assistance, each applicant or recipient in the family unit, when required to do so by the minister, must (a) enter into an employment plan, and (b) comply with the conditions in the employment plan. (2) A dependent youth, when required to do so by the minister, must (a) enter into an employment plan, and (b) comply with the conditions in the employment plan. (3) The minister may specify the conditions in an employment plan including, without limitation, a condition requiring the applicant; recipient or dependent youth to participate in a specific employment-related program that, in the minister's opinion, will assist the applicant, recipient or dependent youth to (a) find employment, or (b) become more employable. (4) If an employment plan includes a condition requiring an applicant, a recipient or a dependent youth to participate in a specific employment-related program, that condition is not met if the person (a) fails to demonstrate reasonable efforts to participate in the program, or (b) ceases, except for medical reasons, to participate in the program. (5) If a dependent youth fails to comply with subsection (2), the minister may reduce the amount of income assistance or hardship assistance provided to or for the family unit by the prescribed amount for the prescribed period. (6) The minister may amend, suspend or cancel an employment plan. (7) A decision under this section � ---��� -�a�. reguiring a person I Q enter into an em p lo y111E111 \JJl1i_n,. ----�-� EM T003( 10/06/01)
I APPEAL# (b) amending, suspending or cancelling an employment plan, or (c) specifying the conditions ofanemployment plan is final and conclusive and is not open to review by a court on any ground or to appeal under section 17 (3) {reconsideration and appeal rights]. The Appellant's Position The appellant's position is that she could not enter an EP because she did not receive the notification that advised her of the scheduled appointments since her mailbox was broken into, or call the ministry office because she had no time left on her phone. She attempted to go to the office in person but had to turn back as it was too cold to walk and she did not have bus fare. The Ministry's Position The ministry argues that the appellant is considered an employable person was advised that she was required to enter an EP in order to be eligible receive assistance. The ministry also argues that it is not satisfied that the appellant was not aware of her scheduled appointments or that she was unable to attend due to the weather or medical problems. After two attempts to schedule appointments for the appellant to begin the process of creating an EP failed, the ministry denied her assistance. Panel Decision Section 9 of the EM sets out that to be eligible for assistance, the recipient must, when required by the ministry, enter into an EP, and comply with the conditions of the EP. The panel finds that evidence establishes that the appellant was advised of the ministry's requirement that she enter into an EP and of the consequences of not entering into an EP. The panel finds that the evidence establishes that the appellant's community mailbox was broken into and as a result, she did not receive all of her mail. However, the panel also finds that the evidence establishes that the appellant was verbally reminded of the November 27, 2013 appointment which she admits she did not attend, and that she was also aware of the December 12, 2013 appointment since she stated that she started walking and turned back as a result of the cold . She has stated that she did receive both the December 2, 2013 letters and then later said she only received the letter advising her that her December assistance cheque would be held until the issue with EP had been resolved. The panel finds that both letters from the ministry dated December 2, 2013 include statements that the appellant must enter into an EP to be eligible to receive continued assistance. The appellant stated that she did not have sufficient minutes on her phone to call the ministry to advise she was unable to attend the December 12, 2013 appointment. The panel finds that the appellant acknowledges that she called the ministry from her landlord's telephone on December 13, 2013 to inquire about her January cheque, and she offered no explanation for why she did not previously use the landlord's telephone to call the ministry to either explain why she was unable to attend the appointment or to inquire about entering into the EP. The panel finds that once the appellant was advised of the ministry's requirement to enter into an EP, it was necessary for her to take all the steps within her control to enter into the EP. The panel finds that the ministry reasonably determined that the appellant was advised that she was required to enter into an EP in order to be eligible for assistance, and that the appellant failed to enter into an EP despite being given opportunities to do so by way of scheduled appointments with the ministry. The evidence establishes that the appellant did not make reasonable efforts to begin the process of creating an EP or provide confirmation of a medical condition that prevented_ her from entering_ _intoan EP, which she required to EM T003( 10/06/01)
d o u n d e r s e c t i o n 9 o f t h e E AA . C o n c l u s i o n T h e e v i d e n c e e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t E AA . T h e p a n e l t h e r e f o r e f i n d s t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y ' s d a s s i s t a n c e 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 l e g i s p a n e l c o n f i r m s t h e m i n i s t r y ' s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I m e t t h e c r i t e r i a s e t o u t i n S e c t i o n 9 ( 1 ) ( a ) o f t h e e c i s i o n t o d e n y t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e q u e s t f o r i n c o m e l a t i o n a n d w a s s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e . T h e 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.