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 J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n d e n y i n g t h e u t i l i t i e s , s p e c i f i c a l l y h y d r o , b e c a u s e t h e n e e d t o p a y t h e i t e m w i l l n o t r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e a p 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 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 E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 l 0 1 )� A P P E 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 ( t h e m i n i s t r y ) a p p e l l a n t ' s r e q u e s t f o r a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t f o r h y d r o w a s n o t u n e x p e c t e d a n d f a i l u r e t o p r o v i d e p e l l a n t ' s h e a l t h a s r e q u i r e d i n s e c t i o n 5 7 o f t h e i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n ( E A P W D R ) . 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 5 7 .
APPEAL# : PART E -Summary of Facts The information before the ministry at reconsideration included the following: From ministry files: • On March 14, 2014 the appellant was advised of the decision: the appellant had submitted a past due $3035.78 hydro bill and a disconnection notice for April 2, 2014. The ministry denied a crisis supplement for utilities and advised the appellant of his right to reconsideration. • On April 11, 2014 appellant submitted his request for reconsideration and request for extension. [At the hearing the appellant clarified that these requests were submitted orally and not in writing.) • The appellant is a sole PWD recipient with no dependents. • Monthly assistance: $941.42 (375 shelter, 506.42 support, 35 diet). • Crisis supplements issued past 12 months: $240 crisis hydro (January), $60 crisis food (20x3). • On October 1, 2012 the appellant moved into his current residence. • His rent is $659 per month plus utilities. • The rent of $659 is paid directly to the landlord, $20 to a repayment, and the balance of $262.42 to the appellant. • On January 8, 2014 the appellant had attended the ministry office with a letter from BC Hydro requesting a security deposit of $291.00; he advised that he has lived at the same address since October 1, 2012 and was not sure why he received the above letter at this time. • The ministry called BC Hydro and was advised that letters had been sent to the appellant as well as the owner of his accommodation every few months. • The ministry was informed by BC Hydro that the appellant would be billed $100 per month for charges going back to October 2012, and the remainder of the debt was to be paid for through an equal payment plan from the appellant's monthly assistance. • In January 2014 the ministry assisted the appellant with a $290 security deposit to BC Hydro and $240 crisis supplement to BC Hydro. The appellant's BC Hydro bill dated February 19, 2014 states that • $3,035.78 are past due; • 2 payments were received on January 16, 2014 for $290 and $240; • outstanding charges are from October 1, 2012 to February 13, 2014; A letter from BC Hydro dated December 27, 2013 stating that • a security deposit of $291 is required from the appellant by January 6, 2014 to secure his account; • promptly providing the security deposit prevents possible credit action that could lead to disconnection; • the deposit is refunded when payment is received by the due date for 12 consecutive months. In his Notice of Appeal dated June 23, 2014 the appellant states that he lives in BC Housing since October 2012. BC Housing called BC Hydro to confirm his address. Bills came to the house addressed to Occupant but the ministry said they would be sending a $100 a month directly to BC Hydro on his behalf. He is on PWD and has severe arthritis and diabetes. EAAT 003(10/06/01)
A t t h e h e a r i n g f u r t h e r e v i d e n c e w a s p r o v i d e d : T h e a d v o c a t e s u b m i t t e d 3 d o c u m e n t s a n d a s u b m i s 1 ) A 1 p a g e A p p l i c a t i o n F o r R e n t S u b s i d y t o B C 2 ) A 2 p a g e B C H y d r o b i l l d a t e d J u n e 2 7 , 2 0 1 4 3 ) A 1 p a g e B C H y d r o N o t i c e o f C r e d i t R e f e r r a l 4 ) A 2 p a g e s u b m i s s i o n d a t e d J u l y 1 8 , 2 0 1 4 . T h e m i n i s t r y d i d n o t o b j e c t t o i t e m s 1 ) t o 4 ) b e i n g a d T h e m i n i s t r y p r o v i d e d a c o p y o f a w r i t t e n e n t r y f r o m t h e a p p e l l a n t a t t e n d e d t h e o f f i c e h a v i n g d i f f i c u l t y s e n o t s e t u p a n a c c o u n t a n d s e r v i c e u n t i l a r r e a r s f r o m o n a n o l d e q u a l p a y m e n t s p l a n a s c o n f i r m e d b y B C s u p p l e m e n t t o m e e t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s n e e d , a s B C H y s c h e d u l e d t o d i s c o n n e c t o n O c t o b e r 1 ? 1 h . N o B C H y d r o E q u a l i z e d P a y m e n t P l a n ( E P P ) w a s e g i v e n o n h i s N o t i c e o f A p p e a l ] . B C H y d r o w o u l d n o t o l d a c c o u n t w a s s e t t l e d . H e h a s a n o l d E P P a t a p r e c l a r i f i e d t h a t t h e E P P o n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c u r r e n t a d d H y d r o c o u l d t h e n p u t t h i s a c c o u n t i n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s T h e a p p e l l a n t a n d t h e a d v o c a t e d i d n o t o b j e c t t o t h e 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 t a t e d t h a t h e h a s b e e n m i s p l a c e d m a i l , n e v e r h a s t i m e t o l o o k t h r o u g h m a i l a n d n e v e r r e c e i v e d a h y d r o b i l l . H i s h y d r o w a s c u t o u s e d h y d r o r e g u l a r l y i n h i s h o m e . S i n c e h i s h y d r o w t h e d a y a n d e a t s t h e r e a n d d o e s h i s l a u n d r y t h e r e . H p a y s t h e b i l l s f o r h i s h o m e p h o n e . H e h a s a g r a d e 1 O e d u c a t i o n . T h e a d v o c a t e s t a t e d c o m p r e h e n s i o n . T h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h a t h e t o l d t h r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n . H e r e c e i v e d a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t o f $ 2 4 0 a l o n g t i m e i s a c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t t h e a m o u n t i s t h e s a m e a s t h e 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 t i o n d e c i s i o n . P u r s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 2 2 ( 4 ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s t a t e m e n t s i n h i s N o t i c e o f A p p e a l a n d h i s t e s t i m o n y 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 . T h e s e s t a t e m r e g a r d i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e q u e s t f o r a c r i s i s s u p p l e m W i t h e x c e p t i o n t o i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n q t h e a o o e l l a E A A T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )'. A P P E A L # s i o n : H o u s i n g ; f o r p a s t d u e $ 3 , 6 1 7 . 8 5 ; d a t e d J u l y 1 1 , 2 0 1 4 ; m i t t e d a s e v i d e n c e . m i n i s t r y f i l e s d a t e d O c t o b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 s t a t i n g t h a t t t i n g u p h y d r o a t h i s n e w r e s i d e n c e . B C H y d r o w i l l p a s t b i l l a r e p a i d . T h e a m o u n t i s a n a d j u s t m e n t H y d r o . T h e m i n i s t r y i s s u e d a o n e t i m e c r i s i s d r o c o n f i r m s t h e r e i s a 4 8 h o u r s d i s c o n n e c t n o t i c e v e r s e t u p a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c u r r e n t a d d r e s s [ a s s e t u p a n e w a c c o u n t f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t u n t i l h i s v i o u s a d d r e s s . 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 s s c a m e i n l a t e r i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 s o t h a t B C n a m e . a d m i s s i o n o f t h e m i n i s t r y ' s n e w e v i d e n c e . l i v i n g i n a 3 b e d r o o m t o w n h o m e . H e h a s , t h r o w s o u t m a i l t h a t i s a d d r e s s e d t o O c c u p a n t , f f o n J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 . U n t i l i t w a s d i s c o n n e c t e d h e a s c u t o f f h e g o e s t o h i s d a u g h t e r ' s h o m e d u r i n g i s c e l l p h o n e i s s e t u p f o r p r e p a y m e n t a n d h e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s p r o b l e m s w i t h r e a d i n g a n d e m i n i s t r y i n p e r s o n t h a t h e r e q u e s t e d a g o , b e f o r e h e m o v e d i n t o h i s c u r r e n t a d d r e s s . I t J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . s s i s t a n c e A c t t h e p a n e l a d m i t s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a s b e i n g i n s u p p o r t o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t w a s e n t s p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a l d e t a i l s a n d b a c k g r o u n d e n t f o r h y d r o . n t ' s d a u a h t e r a n d t h e J u n e 2 i h h v d r o b i l l t h e
pan e l ad mi ts the advocat e's s ubm i ssion beca use it r ministry at recons i d e ra t ion. T he panel d o es n ot ad mi June 2 7, 20 1 4 BC Hyd ro bi ll and hi s BC Hydro no t ice of credi no t in support of the i n f o rmati o n that was bef ore the m EMT 003(10/06/01) �AP PEA L# e-it erate s inf ormation that w as b efore t h e t t h e app ell an t 's a pplicatio n f o r rent s ub s idy , h i s t r e ferr a l becaus e these do cum en ts are i n i stry at r e consi derati on.
PAR T F Reason s for Pane l D eci s i on T h e is sue under appe a l is w hether it wa s reasonab f or a cri s i s sup ple ment for hydro in ac corda nce w ith m inistry r easona bl y de termin e t hat the nee d to pay h pr o vide this supp lement wil l no t resu l t in imminent dange T h e f ollowing sec t ion of the EAR appl i e s to this appeal Cri sis su pp lement 5 7 (1) The minis ter may provide a crisis suppl ement t o or for a h ards hip ass ista n ce if (a) the fam ily unit or a person in th e fam i l y unit requires t he supplement to mee unexpectedly n eeded a nd is unab le to m eet the e xpen se or ob tain fami ly un it, and ( b ) the mi niste r consider s t hat failu re to meet the e xpe nse or obtain the ite (i) immi nent dang e r to the ph ysical he alth o f any perso n i n t he fami ( 2) A c r i sis suppleme n t ma y be pr ovided onl y for the cale nda r supp l ement is m a de .... (4) A c risis supp le m ent pro vi ded fo r foo d, s helter or clothing is (b) if fo r she lter, the m a x imum amou nt that may be pro vid ed in ( i) the family unit's a ct ual shel te r cos t, a nd ( ii ) the maxim um set out in sectio n 4 of Sch edule A or Table 2 ma tc hes the famil y u nit; . .. (5) T h e cumulative a mount o f crisi s s u pplements that may b e t he amount calculated un der subse ction (6). (6) In t h e calen d a r month in wh i ch the ap plication o r reques t for t is calculated by multiplying by 2 the maximum amount of disability assistan provided for the month under Schedule A or Schedul e D to a family unit that matches the family unit. (7) D espite s ubsection (4 ) (b) or (5) or both , a crisis supplement (d) hydro . EAA T0 03(10/06/01) I i\PP EAL # l e of the ministry to de ny the a ppe llan t's re qu es t section 57 o f the EAP WD R; s pecifi cally, d id th e ydro was n ot u n e xpected , an d that f a ilu re to r to the app ellant ' s p hysical health? : fa mily unit t h at is eligible for disa bil ity assistance or t a n un exp ected e x pense or obta in an item t he it em bec a use the re are no r esources availab le to the m w i ll re s u lt in ly unit, ... m ont h in wh i ch the ap pl i cation or requ est for the subjec t to th e following limit a tions: . . . a cale ndar mo nth is th e smaller o f of S c hedule D, as a p plicable , for a family u nit that provided t o or for a fami l y u nit in a year must not exceed he supplement is made, the amount under subsection (5) ce or h ardship assistance that may be m a y b e provided to or for a family unit for the following:
Unexpected e x p ense or o btain a n item unexpectedly needed: The appellant argues that the $30 00 h ydro bill was unexp impressi on that the ministr y would take care of his hydro bill per month directly to hydro. The ministry was dealing with t h em to make payments on h is b eha lf. He was unaware tha h ydro pay ment and i t wasn' t u n til Febr u a ry 2014 that he rece secur ity deposit and for the arrears. Befor e February the hydro bills came addre and since he do es not open mail addressed to oc cupant The minist ry a rgue s t ha t s ince the a ppellant's re nt d s e pa rately on an ongoing basis. Fur thermore, notices were mailed p ay for ongoing hydro is not unexpected. In additi on how the a ppellant wa s e x pe c ting regular m ont hly pa w hen t here was n o BC Hydr o Equalized Payment P a d dre ss u n til Jan uar y 210 4. The pan el fin d s t hat t he appell ant was aware that he ha util ities and he u se d hyd ro on an ongoing bas i s from consi ders it i m probab l e t hat the app ellan t di d not rece es p e c i a lly in light of the fa ct that the mi n i stry prov i d ed su p plements forhydr o in J anua ry 20 14. Fur therm ore, the min is try sho uld hav e bee n m aking hyd ro payments on 20 14 . F or these r e asons the pa nel fin ds the mini s t r y $ 3 000 hyd ro bil l wa s no t unexpected pu rsu a n t to s ection F ailure t o provide t he ite m w ill resu l t in immin ent danger t Th e appell ant argues that failure to provi de a crisi s j eopardy bec aus e he has se vere a r thrit is a nd diab etes, health in imm inent dang e r. The a dvocate ar gues th at without hydro he cannot keep his residence in sanitary con will not be able to keep food fresh, and he will not be able to cook. The ministry argues that instead of paying out over $3000 to BC Hydro the mo re affordable residence wher e r e nt includes utilities. The panel finds that pursuant to section 57( 1)(b)(i) that while it can be expected that a hydro shut down causes inc onvenience and may affect the appellant's h failure t o p r ovid e a crisis supplement for hydro will resul physical he alth. For these reasons the panel f inds that the ministry's decision was a reasonable applicatio legislation in the circumstances of the appellant in denying the appellant's request for a crisis s uoolement for hvdro . The ministrv's decision is confirmed. EAA T003(10/06/01) I �PPEAL # ec ted bec a u se he w as u n der th e since t hey s aid they would deposit $100 hydro on his beha l f and he authorized t ministry w a s not sending his month l y i ve d t he demand from BC Hydro fo r a ssed to occ upa nt, he was not aware of these hydro bills. o e s not include utiliti es he has to pay for hydro to the appella nt and the need to , the ministry argues t hat it does not understan d ym ents to BC Hydro to be mad e by the ministr y lan (E P P) set up at the ap pellant's current d to p ay for hydro as his ren t di d no t inc lu de the b egi n nin g o f his tenancy . The p an el ive any hyd ro notices before Februa ry 2014, th e appellant wit h a t otal of $53 0 c r isis the pa nel f inds th a t the re is no evidence that the appe l lan t 's b eh a lf befor e Ja nua ry wa s rea so na ble in deter mini n g t hat the pa st d ue 57 (1) ( a ) EAR . o t h e app ellan t 's physical he alth: s uppleme nt f o r hydr o w ill pu t his health i n and being cu t-o ff f ro m hyd ro w ould put h i s th e a p pe lla n t has severe health cond i tions, and d ition, his personal hygiene will suffer, he appellant coul d move to a T hat w ay he would av oid danger to his health. e alth , th ere is no t en ough evidence tha t t in imminent da nger to the appellant's n of the
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