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 A p r i l 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 i n w h f o r i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e f o r f a i l i n g t o p r o v i d e i n f o r m a A s s i s t a n c e A c t ( E A A ) a n d s e c t i o n 3 2 ( 1 ) o f t h e E m 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 1 0 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 E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )� A P P E A i ii D e v e l o p m e n t a n d S o c i a l I n v o c a t i o n ( t h e M i n i s t r y ) 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 ' s a p p l i c a t i o n t i o n p u r s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 1 0 o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d 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 ) . i o n 3 2 ( 1 )
P A R T E S u m m a r v 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 e a p p e a l h e a r i n g s e c t i o n 2 2 ( 3 ) ( b ) o f t h e E A A . T h e a p p l i c a n t i s a s o l e a p p l i c a n t w i t h n o d e p e n d a n 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 r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d a t e d A p r i l 7 , 2 0 1 4 w h e r e s h e a d • s h e s u f f e r e d p e r s o n a l i s s u e s a n d s e v e r a l m • s h e h a s h a d n o i n c o m e s i n c e M a r c h 2 0 0 9 a s u p p o rt f r o m f a m i l y , • s h e h a d t o r e m a i n o u t s i d e C a n a d a f o r f a m i l y p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d l i v e l i h o o d , a n d • s h e h a s a c c u m u l a t e d l o a n s a n d d e b t o n c r e s t o p p e d a n y f u rt h e r f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t . S h e o O t h e r 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 r e c o n s i d e r a t i • F o u r p h o t o g r a p h s o f u n i d e n t i f i e d p e o p l e ; • A c c o u n t d e t a i l s o f a c r e d i t c a r d s h o w i n g a b a M a r c h 5 , 2 0 1 4 o f $ 6 7 9 . 0 0 , b u t n o i d e n t i f y i n g • A n u n d a t e d b a n k s t a t e m e n t s h o w i n g v a r i o u s 2 0 1 4 b u t n o i d e n t i f y i n g i n f o r m a t i o n ( t h e n a m h o l d e r ) ; • A n e m a i l d a t e d M a r c h 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 t o t h e a p p e l l s u p p o r t t h e a p p e l l a n t , i s c u r r e n t l y o u t o f t h e c a c c o u n t h o l d e r a f t e r h i s r e t u r n . • A n o t e f r o m a b a n k w h e r e t h e j o i n t a c c o u n t i s r e m o v e a n y p e r s o n f r o m a j o i n t n a m e a c c o u n t h e a c c o u n t a n d o p e n a s i n g l e n a m e a c c o u n A l s o b e f o r e t h e M i n i s t r y a t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n w a s t h e i n c l u d i n g t h e D e c i s i o n t o b e R e c o n s i d e r e d w h i c h s t a • O n F e b r u a r y 1 7 , 2 0 1 4 t h e a p p e l l a n t a t t e n d e d a n a d v o c a t e . • A t t h a t m e e t i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t p r o v i d e d , a m o n N o v e m b e r 1 7 , 2 0 1 4 3 t o F e b r u a r y 1 7 , 2 1 0 4 , s t h e s e d e p o s i t e n t r i e s a s b e i n g w i t h d r a w a l s f r o E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 ): _ ll. P _ P _ l= _ ll. _ l _ Jl _ _ _ _ _ _ � I L w a s c o n d u c t e d i n w r i t i n g i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t s c o n s i s t e d o f t h e a p p l i c a n t ' s R e q u e s t f o r v i s e d t h a t : e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n s , n d i s f i n i s h e d w i t h h e r s a v i n g s a n d f i n a n c i a l r e a s o n s a n d i s s t r u g g l i n g t o g e t b a c k h e r d i t c a r d s t o m e e t l i v i n g e x p e n s e s . H e r u n c l e h a s w e s h e r f a m i l y m o r e t h a n $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 . o n i n c l u d e s : l a n c e o w i n g o f $ 5 4 3 4 . 7 3 a n d a p a y m e n t o n i n f o r m a t i o n ; t r a n s a c t i o n s b e t w e e n M a r c h 6 , 2 0 1 4 a n d A p r i l 1 , e o f t h e b a n k i s n o t p r o v i d e d , o r t h e a c c o u n t a n t f r o m h e r u n c l e s t a t i n g t h a t h e c a n n o l o n g e r o u n t r y a n d w i l l h a v e h e r r e m o v e d a s a j o i n t h e l d ( n o t d a t e d ) s t a t i n g t h a t t h e b a n k c a n n o t t f o r a n y r e a s o n a n d t h e c u s t o m e r n e e d s t o c l o s e t . 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 d a t e d A p r i l 7 , 2 0 1 4 , t e s : a f a c e t o f a c e m e e t i n g a t t h e M i n i s t r y o f f i c e s w i t h g o t h e r t h i n g s , b a n k s t a t e m e n t s c o v e r i n g h o w i n g v a r i o u s d e p o s i t s . T h e a p p e l l a n t e x p l a i n e d m a j o i n t a c c o u n t t h a t s h e h e l d w i t h h e r u n c l e .
: APPl=Al if • The Ministry asked the appellant to submit bank statements for the past 3 months from her two joint bank accounts with her uncle. • The appellant told the Ministry that her uncle could no longer support her and did not give her permission to provide the joint bank account information to the Ministry. • On February 24, 2014 and on March 3, 2014 the Ministry telephoned the appellant and reminded her that she needed to provide bank statements in order to determine her eligibility. On March 11, 2014 the appellant was denied income assistance because she failed to provide information and verification as required by the Ministry to determine eligibility of income assistance. In her Notice of Appeal the appellant stated that she had no money and no income and her doctor gave her a note saying that she should be on permanent disability." The doctor's note dated 13 May 2104 was attached to the appellant's notice of appeal and on it, the doctor has written that the appellant "qualifies for permanent disability." The panel admits the doctor's note dated May 13, 2014 pursuant to the EAA section 22 (4) as written testimony in support of the information that was before the Minister at reconsideration (the appellant submitted several pages outlining various medical conditions and ailments with her request for reconsideration). The panel notes that the Ministry did not oppose the admission of the doctor's note. The panel notes, however, that the doctor's note and medical ailments listed do not directly relate to the specific issue being considered in this appeal, namely the appellant's failure to provide information requested by the Ministry. The appellant did not suggest in her submissions that her medical condition related in any way to her inability to provide the information requested. As a result the panel gives no weight to the doctor's note of May 13, 2014. EAA T003(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 t o b e d e c i d e d o n t h i s a p p e a l i s w h e t h e r f o u n 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 i n c o m e r e a s o n a b l y s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e o r a r e a s o n c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e a p p e l l a n t . T h e f o l l o w i n g l e g i s l a t i o n i s r e l e v a n t t o t h i s a p p e a l . E A A , s e c t i o n 1 O 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 1 O . ( 1 ) F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f ( a ) d e t e r m i n i n g w h e t h e r a p e r s o n w a n t i n g t o a p p l y e l i g i b l e t o a p p l y f o r i t , ( b ) d e t e r m i n i n g o r a u d i t i n g e l i g i b i l i t y f o r i n c o m e a s s ( c ) a s s e s s i n g e m p l o y a b i l i t y a n d s k i l l s f o r t h e p u r p o s ( d ) a s s e s s i n g c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f a n t h e m i n i s t e r m a y d o o n e o r m o r e o f t h e f o l l o w i n g : ( e ) d i r e c t a p e r s o n r e f e r r e d t o i n p a r a g r a p h ( a ) , a n a i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h i n t h e t i m e a n d i n t h e m a n n e r s p e c i ( f ) s e e k v e r i f i c a t i o n o f a n y i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p l i e d t o t h ( a ) , a n a p p l i c a n t o r a r e c i p i e n t ; ( g ) d i r e c t a p e r s o n r e f e r r e d t o i n p a r a g r a p h ( a ) , a n a i n f o r m a t i o n h e o r s h e s u p p l i e d t o t h e m i n i s t e r . ( 2 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y d i r e c t a n a p p l i c a n t o r a r e c i p i e t h e m i n i s t e r i f t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n r e l a t e s t o t h e e l i g i b i l i t h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e o r a s u p p l e m e n t . ( 3 ) S u b s e c t i o n ( 1 ) ( e ) t o ( g ) a p p l i e s w i t h r e s p e c t t o a s u b s e c t i o n ( 1 ) ( c ) o r ( d ) . ( 4 ) I f a n a p p l i c a n t o r a r e c i p i e n t f a i l s t o c o m p l y w i t h a d e c l a r e t h e f a m i l y u n i t 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 p r e s c r i b e d p e r i o d . ( 5 ) I f a d e p e n d e n t y o u t h f a i l s t o c o m p l y w i t h a d i r e c t t h e a m o u n t o f 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 E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # � t h e M i n i s t ry ' s r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , w h i c h a s s i s t a n c e f o r n o t p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n , w a s 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 e e n a c t m e n t i n t h e f o r 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 i s i s t a n c e , h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e o r a s u p p l e m e n t , e s o f a n e m p l o y m e n t p l a n , o r e m p l o y m e n t p l a n , p p l i c a n t o r a r e c i p i e n t t o s u p p l y t h e m i n i s t e r w i t h f i e d b y t h e m i n i s t e r ; e m i n i s t e r b y a p e r s o n r e f e r r e d t o i n p a r a g r a p h p p l i c a n t o r a r e c i p i e n t t o s u p p l y v e r i f i c a t i o n o f a n y n t t o s u p p l y v e r i f i c a t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n r e c e i v e d b y y o f t h e f a m i l y u n i t f o r i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e , d e p e n d e n t y o u t h f o r a p u r p o s e r e f e r r e d t o i n d i r e c t i o n u n d e r t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e m i n i s t e r m a y c e , h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e o r a s u p p l e m e n t f o r t h e i o n u n d e r t h i s s e c t i o n , t h e m i n i s t e r m a y r e d u c e n c e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r t h e f a m i l v u n i t b y t h e
prescrib e d a mo u n t for the prescribed period. EAR, section 3 2 : Consequences of failin g to provide informa tion or verifica ti o 32 (1) For the purpose s of section 10 ( 4) [infor mation and verificatio ma y decl are th e family unit i n eligible for assistance lasts until direction. (2) For the purposes of se c tion 1 0 (5 ) [i n formation (a) th e amount by which the ministe r may reduce the i dependent yo ut h' s f a m ily unit is $100 f or e a ch calendar month, and (b) t he period for which the m inister may red u ce t dep en den t yout h's f amily uni t las ts unt il the dependent The Min i s try's positio n The Mini str y' s positio n is as fo l lows: • Th e Mi n istry ask e d the ap pe ll ant t h r e e t im es to prov h eld with he r unc le, first in per s on wit h an advocate • The appellan t failed t o pr ovide th i s i nforma tio n an sectio n 10 (4) of the EAA . • The ap pellant has n ot yet provided these ban k st • Although th e a ppell ant said that her uncle could no longer support her and inten as a j oint a c count h older, h e h a s n o t do n e so. • By law, th e Mi n i s t ry i s re quired to collect certai n inform information it canno t p roceed w i th the applic ation • Although the note from the bank states that the bank cannot remove any one person from a joint name account for any reason and the custome r in d ividual acco unt, the appellant has no t done so. The appellant's position The pos i tion of the appellant is that she has no money and no income. S supp orted by her uncle and her uncle will remove her as a joint account from away. She is in g reat n eed of mon ey to cover immediate l cost s a nd o ther ex e n se s. EAAT 003(10/06/01) APPEA L # : n when d ire cted n] of the Act, the p eriod for which t he minister t he app lican t or r e cipient complies with the and verification ] o f the Act, n come a ssi st ance or hard ship assistance of the he i nc o me as sist ance or h ardsh ip ass istan c e o f th e youth complies wit h the direction. i de ban k s tatem ents fro m t w o jo int a ccounts in att en d an ce and twi ce by t el e p ho n e. d t h us was de nied income a ssistanc e unde r ate m ents t o the M inistry. ded to remov e he r ation to determ ine eligibility. Witho ut this for incom e assistance. needs to close the joint account and open an he is n o lon ger being holder as soon as he returns iving expe nses, ca r i nsu rance, health
T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t a r g u e ( i n f a c t , a n a d v o c a t e a c c o m p a n i e d t h e a p p e l l a n t t o w h e n t h e r e q u e s t w a s m a d e } . T h e r e i s a l s o n o e v i d s u f f e r e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t a r e i n a n y a w a y r e l a t e d t T h e p a n e l ' s d e c i s i o n T h e E A A r e q u i r e s u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 0 t h a t f o r a p e r s o m u s t s u p p l y v e r i f i c a t i o n o f a n y i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p l i e d r e l a t e s t o h i s o r h e r e l i g i b i l i t y . I t a l s o s t a t e s t h a t i f a t h e M i n s t e r m a y d e c l a r e t h e p e r s o n i n e l i g i b l e f o r i n t h e r e c i p i e n t r e m a i n s i n e l i g i b l e u n t i l t h e r e c i p i e n t c o T h e e v i d e n c e s h o w s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t u n d e r s t o o d i n f o r m a t i o n a n d s p e c i f i c a l l y b a n k s t a t e m e n t s f r o m t n e e d t o p r o v i d e t h e b a n k s t a t e m e n t s i n a f a c e t o f a v o i c e m e s s a g e . T h e p a n e l a l s o a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t r e m o v e d f r o m t h e j o i n t b a n k a c c o u n t s , a n d h e r u n c e v i d e n c e b e f o r e t h e p a n e l t h a t s h e h a s d o n e s o . 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 r e c o n w a s n o t 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 f o r n o t p r o v i r e m a i n s i n e l i g i b l e p u r s u a n t t o E A R s e c t i o n 3 2 w a s 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 e e n a c t m e n t 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 o n . E A A T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # : t h a t s h e d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d t h e M i n i s t r y ' s r e q u e s t h e r f i r s t m e e t i n g i n F e b r u a r y w i t h t h e M i n i s t r y e n c e t h a t t h e l i s t e d p h y s i c a l a n d m e n t a l a i l m e n t s o h e r f a i l u r e t o p r o v i d e t h e r e q u e s t e d i n f o r m a t i o n . n t o b e 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 , h e o r s h e o r r e c e i v e d b y t h e M i n i s t e r i f t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n p e r s o n f a i l s t o c o m p l y w i t h t h e M i n i s t r y ' s r e q u e s t , c o m e a s s i s t a n c e . T h e E A R s e c t i o n 3 2 s t a t e s t h a t m p l i e s . t h e M i n i s t r y ' s r e q u e s t t h a t s h e p r o v i d e f i n a n c i a l w o j o i n t a c c o u n t s . S h e w a s i n f o r m e d a b o u t t h e c e m e e t i n g , o n c e o v e r t h e t e l e p h o n e a n d o n c e i n a a l t h o u g h t h e a p p e l l a n t i s t r y i n g t o g e t h e r n a m e l e h a s p r o m i s e d t o h e l p h e r , t h e r e w a s n o s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n , w h i c h f o u n d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n p u r s u a n t t o E A A s e c t i o n 1 0 a n d r e a s o n a b l y s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e a n d a i n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e a p p e l l a n t . T h e p a n e l
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.