APPEAl I PART C -Decision unde r Appeal Th e decisi o n under appeal is the ministry's reconsideration dec ision dat e d July 16, 2014 that denied t he appellant's appli ca t ion for funds to cover the costs of s t oring her pe rsonal b elongings un til she finds perman ent accommodati on. The ministr y found that she d i d not receive p r e -approva l for t he expenses and that her sto rage was no t for a limited time as required in the Employment and Assistance Re gulatio n se cti on 57. P A R T D -Re l ev ant L e gisla tion Emp loymen t an d Ass istance Reg ula t ion (EAR) sec tion 57 EAAT 003( 10/06/01)
P AR T E -Summary of Facts The informa tion bef ore the ministry at the time of reconsiderat • An admittance and dischar ge form showing the appellant wa program on Jan u a ry 24, 2014. • A c ertificate of complet ion dated Apr i l 24, 2014 for th • A letter written b y the app ellant dated June storage fees of $7 2 . 45 while she is stay i ng in transitional housing while she w affo r dable residence. She arg ues that the sh she entered treatment and because she cannot afford t losing them including items of sentimental and practical value. • A l et ter from the tr ansition house society dated May 9, 2014 confirming that the appellant l i ving at t h e tr ansition house and is comp l eting t • A l ett e r written by the app e llant da ted May 9 f ee to m aintain her storage. S h e writes that • A n Auc tio n Notic e date d Jun e 4, 2 01 4 f rom contents of h er l ock er w il l be aucti oned of f o $ 217.40 b y the da te of the auct i o n. • A lette r written by the app ell ant da ted June 5, and t hat s he took par t in th e r eco v er y prog r am She a dded tha t if she didn't make t h e m ove t unsafe e n v iro nment and p ossibly r e lapsin g i • The ap pell ant' s Requ est fo r Reconsi d erati on accor ding t o a publ ica tion c a l led 'My We lf are Ri her moving exp ens es i f she is m ovin g f o r h er sh e h as completed a 90 d ay re c over y p r o gram, h p eriod o f tim e ho wever h e is no longer able to h ousing wh ile try ing t o get her c hi l dr en back The appellant submitted new ev id ence wi t h her Not we r e previously submitted. • A letter wr i tten by t he ap pellant dat ed Ju ly 2, 201 reconsideration decision was not completed with care and that the reconsideration officer m ade er rors. • A letter written by the appellant d a ted June 30, 2014 has made including he r address being recorded in recovery program she was in, and that she has moved from the recovery program to a transitional h o use only once. • C o p ies of pages from a public ation c alled 'You In the section c alled Mo v in g C osts sh e n otes the s movi n g c osts if s he i s moving for h er safety or the safety of a fami ministry must approve her moving assistance before a move. She also requests appeal b enefits wh i le her appe al is being heard. EAAT 003( 10/06/01) APPEAL I ion included the follo w i n g : s admi tte d to a treatment e appe l lant's t re at ment program. 4, 2014 requesting assis tan c e to cover her mont hly aits f or a n e h ad to place her belo n gings int o s torage when h e m onthly fees, she is in jeopardy of is he pr ograms they provide. , 2014 request ing the m i ni s try cover th e $ 72.45 she has co mpleted a re c ove ry-b ased p r o gram. t h e ap pella n t ' s sto rag e f a cil ity stat ing t hat the n J uly 25, 2014 i f she fails t o pay the b alance o f 2 014 a rg u ing that she is en titled t o tw o mo ve s a nd t hen m oved to th e tr a n sit ion al housi n g. o th e tr ansiti on al h ou se she w o uld be l iving in an n to add iction . fo r m d ate d J une 6, 2 01 4 . S he writes t h a t ghts,' she is entitl e d to t he m i n ist r y co v erin g sa fety or the safety of h er fam ily. She add ed th at er fat h er h ad cover ed th e s torage fee s f or a h el p , and sh e is s ti l l living in t h e t ransi tio n a l into h er ca re . ice of A ppe al as well a s c opie s o f documents that 4 in whic h she argues t h a t the in which she points to errors the mini s t ry co r rectly, having the wrong name for the r Welfare Rights' along with handwri tten notes. e ction explaining th at she may be elig i bl e for l y member however th e
T h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t i n a t t e n d a n c e a t t h e h e a r i n g d a t e , t i m e , a n d l o c a t i o n o f t h e h e a r i n g , i t p r o c e e d e A s s i s t a n c e R e g u l a t i o n . A t t h e h e a r i n g t h e m i n i s t r y t o l d t h e p a n e l t h a t t h e d t h e f a c t t h a t h e r n e e d t o h a v e h e r s t o r a g e f e e s p a i d l e g i s l a t e d c r i t e r i a o f a m o v i n g e x p e n s e . T h e m i n i s t c o n s i d e r e d , i t m u s t b e a p p r o v e d p r i o r t o t h e p e r s o n p r e a p p r o v a l . T h e m i n i s t r y c o n t i n u e d t h a t i n s o m e c r e c i p i e n t f o r a v e r y l i m i t e d t i m e h o w e v e r a l l r e q u e s p r e a p p r o v e d . T h e m i n i s t r y u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t t h e a p s t o r a g e f a c i l i t y f o r a p e r i o d o f t i m e b u t w a s u n a b l e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , i t w o u l d c o n t i n u e t o p a y t h e c o s t s o a t t e n d a r e c o v e r y p r o g r a m . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t : • T h e a p p e l l a n t m o v e d f i r s t f r o m h e r h o m e i n t i n t o a t r a n s i t i o n a l h o m e . S h e i s c u r r e n t l y s e e • T h e a p p e l l a n t h a s h e r p e r s o n a l b e l o n g i n g s i • T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t r e c e i v e p r e a p p r o v a l f o E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L I . A f t e r c o n f i r m i n g s h e h a d b e e n n o t i f i e d o f t h e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 8 6 ( b ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d 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 w a s d u e t o w h i l e s h e s e e k s a c c o m m o d a t i o n d i d n o t m e e t t h e r y e x p l a i n e d t h a t f o r a n y m o v i n g e x p e n s e t o b e m o v i n g . I n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c a s e , t h e r e w a s n o i r c u m s t a n c e s i t c o v e r s t h e s t o r a g e e x p e n s e s o f a t s f o r m o v i n g o r s t o r a g e c o s t s m u s t b e p e l l a n t ' s f a t h e r h a d b e e n c o v e r i n g t h e c o s t s o f t h e t o c o n t i n u e . T h e m i n i s t r y a d d e d t h a t , u n d e r c e r t a i n f m a i n t a i n i n g a r e c i p i e n t ' s r e s i d e n c e w h i l e t h e y o a t r e a t m e n t p r o g r a m f o r 9 0 d a y s a n d t h e n m o v e d k i n g s a f e a n d a f f o r d a b l e a c c o m m o d a t i o n . n a s t o r a g e f a c i l i t y c o s t i n g $ 7 2 . 4 5 p e r m o n t h . r h e r s t o r a g e e x p e n s e s .
APPEAl I PART F -Reasons for Panel Decision The decision under appeal is the ministry's reconsideration decision that found that the appellant was ineligible to have her storage fees paid because she did not receive pre-approval for the storage expenses as required by EAR section 57. The applicable legislation is the EAR section 57 which states: Supplements for moving, transportation and living costs 57 (1) In this section: "living cost" means the cost of accommodation and meals; "moving cost" means the cost of moving a family unit and its personal effects from one place to another; "transportation cost" means the cost of travelling from one place to another. (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the minister may provide a supplement to or for a family unit that Is eligible for income assistance, other than as a transient under section 10 of Schedule A, or hardship assistance to assist with one or more of the following: (a) moving costs required to move anywhere in Canada, if a recipient In the family unit is not working but has arranged confirmed employment that would significantly promote the financial Independence of the family unit and the recipient Is required to move to begin that employment; (b) moving costs required to move to another province or country, If the family unit Is required to move to Improve Its living circumstances; (c) moving costs required to move within a municipality or unincorporated area or to an adjacent municipality or unincorporated area because the family unit's rented residential accommodation is being sold or demolished and notice to vacate has been given, or has been condemned; (d) moving costs required to move within a municipality or unincorporated area or to an adjacent municipality or unincorporated area if the family unit's shelter costs would be significantly reduced as a result of the move; (e) moving costs required to move to another area In British Columbia to avoid an Imminent threat to the physical safety of any person in the family unit; (f) transportation costs and living costs required to attend a hearing relating to a child protection proceeding under the Child, Family and Community Service Act, if a recipient Is given notice of the hearing and Is a party to the proceeding; (g) transportation costs, living costs, child care costs and fees resulting from (I) the required attendance of a recipient in the family unit at a hearing, o r (ii) other requirements a recipient in the family unit must fulfil In connection with the exercise of a maintenance right assigned to the minister under section 20[categories that must assign maintenance rights]. (3) A family unit Is eligible for a supplement under this section only If (a) there are no resources available to the family unit to cover the costs for which the supplement may be provided, and (b) a recipient In the family unit receives the minister's approval before Incurring those costs. ( 4) A supplement may be provided under this section only to assist with (a) the cost.of the least expensive appropriate mode of moving or transportation, and (b) In the case of a supplement under subsection (2) (f) or (g), the least expensive appropriate living costs. The arqument of the aooellant is that she is eliqible to have the cost of storinq her personal EAAT 003(10/06/01)
APPEAL I belongings covered by the ministry because she is moving for her safety and that is a qualifying circumstance under the legislation. The argument of the ministry is that the appellant does not qualify to have her storage costs covered because she did not receive prior approval from the ministry before her move and that her move to the transition home does not meet the criteria listed in the EAR section 57. The panel acknowledges the appellant's comments that the ministry made some errors in the reconsideration decision in terms of her address, the name of her recovery program, and the number of moves she has made however the panel finds that these errors are not material to the outcome of the reconsideration decision. The panel considered the appellant's argument that the storage fees are part of her move that she made to avoid imminent danger by going to a recovery program. The legislation provides circumstances that a recipient can have his or her moving costs covered by the ministry. These circumstances are: 1 . Move to where the recipient has confirmed employment. 2. Move because the recipient's current residence has sold or is being demolished. 3. Move to improve the recipient's living circumstances, 4. Move in order to reduce the recipient's living costs 5. Move to avoid imminent threat to the recipient's physical safety. The panel reviewed the ministry's reconsideration decision. The ministry noted the appellant's initial move to the recovery program was to avoid imminent threat to her safety; however, the appellant's subsequent move from the recovery program to the transitional house was not to avoid an imminent threat to her safety. At the hearing the ministry did not offer any further explanation as to why one move does meet the legislated criteria and the other did not except to say that when a recipient moves into a recovery program, the ministry will occasionally maintain the recipient's residence while he or she attends the program. This kind of arrangement may have been appropriate in the appellant's case, however, since the appellant did not seek preapproval, this option was not explored. Regarding the requirement that an appellant seek preapproval for any moving expenses prior to the costs being incurred, EAR section 57(3)(b), the panel notes that the appellant placed her belongings into the storage facility in January 2014 and requested the ministry cover the costs on May 9, 2014. As the legislation requires that a person must receive the minister's preapproval, the panel finds that the ministry was reasonable when it determined that the appellant did not have the requisite preapproval. The panel finds that the ministry's decision was a reasonable application of the applicable enactment in the circumstances of the appellant and confirms the decision. EAAT 003(10/06/01)
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.