I APPEAL# PART C -Decision under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (ministry) reconsideration decision dated October 22, 2014 whereby the appellant was found to be ineligible for income assistance pursuant to Section 9 of the Employment and Assistance Act (EAA) for not complying with the conditions of her Employment Plan (EP), due to her failure to participate in her employment-related program. PART D-Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance Act (EAA), Section 9
P A R T E S u m m a o f F a c t s T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t a t t e n d t h e h e a r i n g . A f t e r c o n f p r o c e e d 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 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 t h e t i m e o f t h e r 1 ) E P s i g n e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t d a t e d J u l y 2 4 , 2 0 r e q u i r i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t t o p a rt i c i p a t e i n t h e E m a n d a s d i r e c t e d b y t h e c o n t r a c t o r . S h e w i l l w m a y i m p a c t h e r e m p l o y a b i l i t y a n d c o m p l e t e a b e s e t o u t i n a n a c t i o n p l a n . S h e w i l l n o t i f y t h o r w h e n s h e s t a r t s o r e n d s a n y e m p l o y m e n t . c h a n g e s t o t h e m i n i s t r y a n d w i l l a t t e n d a l l m i n 2 ) C o n t r a c t o r c a s e n o t e s c o v e r i n g t h e p e r i o d A u i n c l u d i n g n o t e s t h a t : • A u g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 t h e a p p e l l a n t a t t e n d e c o m p l e t e d a n d t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s a s k e s u i t a b i l i t y . • S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d l e a v e a m e s s a g e f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t t o c • S e p t e m b e r 1 8 , 2 0 1 4 t h e c o n t r a c t o r a t t a n s w e r a n d n o v o i c e m a i l . • S e p t e m b e r 1 9 , 2 0 1 4 t h e c o n t r a c t o r s e a p p o i n t m e n t . • S e p t e m b e r 2 2 , 2 0 1 4 t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 a t 1 1 : 3 0 a . m . • T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t a t t e n d t h e a p p o i n 3 ) 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 O c t o b e r 8 I n h e r 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 t h e a p p e l l a n t w r • S h e a d m i t s t h a t s h e m i s s e d h e r f i r s t a p p o i n t m m e n t a l i s s u e s . S i n c e h e r f i r s t m e e t i n g w i t h [ t m u c h t h a t s h e c o n s i d e r e d t a k i n g h e r o w n l i f e • S h e h a s a d r u g a d d i c t i o n a n d s h e i s i n a b a t t l y e a r w i t h o n e s l i p a n d t h e m o n t h o f S e p t e m b s i n c e s h e c o u l d n o t f i n d a p l a c e t o l i v e a n d s h • S h e i s n o t p u r p o s e l y b r e a k i n g h e r j o b r e q u i r e • T h e m o n t h s o f A u g u s t a n d S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 h • W h e n s h e m e t w i t h [ t h e c o n t r a c t o r ] o n A u g u s g e t a f o r m f i l l e d o u t a n d t o r e t u r n t o t h e c o n t r • I t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r h e r t o g e t t o h e r d o c t o r w h o i s t h e b u s d u e t o p a n i c a t t a c k s a n d a n x i e t y s h e • S h e f o r g o t a b o u t t h e S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 a p p w i t h a f r i e n d , t r y i n g t o f i n d a p l a c e t o l i v e , l o o k o t h e r c o m m u n i t y t o s e e h e r d o c t o r . • S h e r e c e i v e d a n e m a i l f r o m t h e c o n t r a c t o r a A P P E A L # I i r m i n g t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t i f i e d , t h e h e a r i n g n d A s s i s t a n c e R e g u l a t i o n . e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n i n c l u d e d : 1 4 . T h e t e r m s o f t h e E P i n c l u d e p r o v i s i o n s p l o y m e n t P r o g r a m o f B . C . p r o g r a m r e g u l a r l y o r k w i t h t h e c o n t r a c t o r t o a d d r e s s a n y i s s u e s t h a t l l t a s k s a s s i g n e d i n c l u d i n g a n y a c t i v i t i e s t h a t m a y e c o n t r a c t o r i f s h e i s u n a b l e t o a t t e n d a s e s s i o n S h e w i l l d e c l a r e a l l i n c o m e a n d r e p o r t a n y i s t r y r e v i e w a p p o i n t m e n t s a s r e q u i r e d ; g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 t h r o u g h S e p t e m b e r 2 9 , 2 0 1 4 , d a n i n t a k e a p p o i n t m e n t , a n a c t i o n p l a n w a s d t o c o m p l e t e a m e d i c a l r e p o r t t o v e r i f y h e r n o t a t t e n d a n a p p o i n t m e n t . C o n t r a c t o r c o u l d o n l y a l l . e m p t e d t o c o n t a c t t h e a p p e l l a n t b u t t h e r e w a s n o n t a n e m a i l t o t h e a p p e l l a n t r e g a r d i n g t h e m i s s e d e s t e d a n e w a p p o i n t m e n t , w h i c h w a s s e t f o r t m e n t o n S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 ; a n d , , 2 0 1 4 w i t h a t t a c h e d h a n d w r i t t e n p a g e s . o t e t h a t : e n t b y f o r g e t t i n g d u e t o a l o t o f s t r e s s a n d h e c o n t r a c t o r ] s h e h a s b e e n d e a l i n g w i t h s o . e t o s t a y c l e a n . S h e h a s b e e n c l e a n f o r a l m o s t a e r 2 0 1 4 a l m o s t c a u s e d h e r t o s t a r t u s i n g a g a i n e h a d t o s t a y w i t h f r i e n d s o n d i f f e r e n t c o u c h e s . m e n t a g r e e m e n t . a v e b e e n h a r d f o r h e r w i t h h a v i n g t o m o v e . t 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 , s h e w a s a s k e d t o g o t o h e r d o c t o r t o a c t o r o n S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 . l o c a t e d i n a n o t h e r c o m m u n i t y . S h e c a n n o t t a k e e x p e r i e n c e s . o i n t m e n t s i n c e s h e w a s s t r e s s e d o u t , s t a y i n g i n g f o r j o b s a n d s c h o o l s , a n d t r y i n g t o g e t t o t h e n d a n o t h e r a o i n t m e n t w a s s e t u f o r
APPEAL# I September 26, 2014 at 11 :30 a.m. • On September 26, 2014 she went to an interview starting at 10:45 a.m. and she talked with the interviewer about the job, courses, and possible accommodation and she lost track of time. • She moved into the new accommodation on September 29 and 30, 2014. She went to get her assistance cheque and was told that she was no longer eligible. • After she got settled in her place and got her rent paid she had full intention of going to [the contractor] to tell her about getting a home and finding a course. The ministry relied on its reconsideration decision, as summarized at the hearing. At the hearing, the ministry stated that: • The appellant was referred to a contractor who specializes in helping clients overcome barriers to employment and moving them further down the continuum to making them more employable. • The program is not necessarily a full-time commitment and can be as little as 5 hours per week engaged in some activity tailored to the particular individual. • No confirming information was received by the contractor or the ministry regarding an inability to attend the program due to medical conditions.
I APP E AL# PART F -Re aso n s fo r Panel De c ision The is sue on appe al is whe t h er the m inistry r eas onabl y con cluded tha t the ap pella n t d id not comply with the co ndit ion s of her E P , d ue t o h e r failure t o pa rtic ipa te in her e m p loyment-related progra m , and that, t heref ore, the appe l lant is not eligib le f or in come assistanc e pursu ant to Section 9 of the Employm e n t and A ssis t ance Ac t ( EAA). S ection 9 o f t he E AA p rovid e s : Em plo yme nt pl a n 9 ( 1) F or a fami ly unit to be e li gib le for in c ome assi stance or hardship a s sis ta n ce, each ap plic ant or r e c ipi e nt in the fa mily u n it, whe n r eq uired to do s o by the minister, must (a) e nter in to an emp l oyment plan , an d ( b) comply with th e condi t i ons in t he employment plan. (2) A dependen t youth , when req uir ed to do so by t he m inister, mus t ( a ) ent er into an emp l oyment plan, an d (b) c omply with the condi t i ons in th e e mployment plan . (3) The m inis ter may specify the conditi o ns in a n empl oy ment p la n i n c luding, wit h out limit a t io n , a c o ndition requirin g the appli cant, recipient or de pende n t yo uth t o p articip ate in a specific empl oyment-r el a ted p rog r am that, in th e ministe r 's opini on, wi ll ass ist the a ppl ican t, re c ipient o r d e penden t you t h to (a ) fi nd emplo yment, or ( b) b ec om e more em p l o yable. (4 ) If an emp loym e nt plan i ncl udes a c onditi o n requiring a n ap plicant, a rec i p i ent or a d epend ent you t h to part icipate i n a s pe ci f i c e m pl oymen t -relat ed pr ogram, t h at condition is not met if the p e rs on (a) f ai l s to demons trat e reasonable e ffor ts to part icipate in the pr ogram , or ( b) ce a se s, exce pt for me di c al reaso ns, to pa rti c i p ate i n th e prog ram. (5) If a d epe n de nt you th fails to c omply with subs e ction (2), t he min ister may re duc e the amount of in c o me as sistance or har dship ass istance p rovi ded to or for th e fa m ily u nit by t he pres c ri bed amo un t for th e pr escri bed pe rio d. (6 ) The m iniste r m a y a m e nd , suspe n d o r cancel an e m p lo yment p lan. (7) A decision un der thi s se ctio n (a ) r equir i ng a pe rso n to ent er into a n e m p lo y m ent pla n, (b) a me ndi n g, su sp e nding or c a n cel ling an emplo y m e n t p lan, or ( c) s pecifying the c onditi o n s o f an em plo ym ent plan i s fin al and co n clus i v e and is not op en to re v iew by a court on any gr ound or t o a ppeal un d e r section 17 (3 ) [reco n si d eratio n and ap peal righ ts]. Section 9(1) of the EAA provides that, when the ministry requires, a person must enter into an EP and comply with the conditions in the EP in order to be eligible for income assistance. Under Section 9(3) of the EAA, the m i nis try has the authority to specify conditions in an EP, including a requirement that the person participate in an emp loyment-r e lated pro gr am . Pursuant to Section 9(4) of the EAA, if an EP includes a condition requiring a person to participate in a specific employme nt-related program, t hat c ondition is no t met if the person fails to demonstrate reasonable effort s to participat e in the program or if the person ceases, except for medical reasons, t o pa r tici pate in t h e p ro gr am . Ministry's Position T h e m i nistry's p o s ition is that t he appellant fa iled to demonstrate reasonable efforts to participate in her EP and she has not provided any information of circumstances that prevented her from being compliant with her E P. T h e minis try argu ed that the appellant entered into an EP dated July 24, 2014 and, by signing her EP, confirmed that she read, understood and agreed to the conditions specified. It is a requirement in the appellant's EP to complete all tasks assigned by the contractor and notify
t h e c o n t r a c t o r i f s h e i s u n a b l e t o a t t e n d . T h e m i n i s t c o n s e q u e n c e s f o r f a i l i n g t o c o m p l y w i t h t h e c o n d i t i o a p p e l l a n t f a i l e d t o a t t e n d a p p o i n t m e n t s s c h e d u l e d w S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 a n d f a i l e d t o n o t i f y t h e c o n t r a c a p p o i n t m e n t s o r t o r e s c h e d u l e t h e a p p o i n t m e n t s . T s u p p l y a n y i n fo r m a t i o n t o c o n f i r m h e r r e a s o n f o r m i t h e c o n t r a c t o r , i . e . t h a t s h e a t t e n d e d a j o b i n t e r v i e w s u b s e q u e n t l y c o n t a c t t h e c o n t r a c t o r , i . e . t h a t s h e s e 2 9 a n d 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 . T h e m i n i s t r y a r g u e d t h a t t h e a p p e b y h e r d o c t o r a s h a d b e e n r e q u e s t e d b y t h e c o n t r a c A p p e l l a n t ' s P o s i t i o n T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s p o s i t i o n , a s s e t o u t i n h e r R e q u e s t f a n d i s n o t p u r p o s e l y b r e a k i n g h e r j o b r e q u i r e m e n t a c o n t r a c t o r r e q u e s t e d t h a t s h e h a v e h e r d o c t o r c o m p f o r h e r t o g e t t o h e r d o c t o r w h o i s l o c a t e d i n a n o t h e a p p e l l a n t a r g u e d t h a t s h e f o r g o t a b o u t t h e S e p t e m b o u t , s t a y i n g w i t h a f r i e n d , t r y i n g t o f i n d a p l a c e t o l i v t h e o t h e r c o m m u n i t y t o s e e h e r d o c t o r . T h e a p p e l l a t h e c o n t r a c t o r o n S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 b e c a u s e s h e o f t i m e . T h e a p p e l l a n t a r g u e d t h a t s h e d i d n o t c o n t b e c a u s e s h e w a s m o v i n g i n t o n e w a c c o m m o d a t i o n P a n e l ' s D e c i s i o n 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 s i g n e d h e r E P o n s h e w i l l w o r k w i t h t h e c o n t r a c t o r t o a d d r e s s a n y i s s u a l l t a s k s a s s i g n e d , a n d n o t i f y t h e c o n t r a c t o r i f s h e i s t h e a p p e l l a n t a t t e n d e d t h e i n t a k e a p p o i n t m e n t w i t h t h e t a s k o f h a v i n g h e r d o c t o r c o m p l e t e a M e d i c a l R e s u b s e q u e n t a p p o i n t m e n t s c h e d u l e d f o r a p p r o x i m a t e a p p e l l a n t a d m i t s t h a t s h e d i d n o t a t t e n d t h e a p p o i n t d u e t o t h e s t r e s s s h e w a s u n d e r . H o w e v e r , t h e m i n a l s o d i d n o t p r o v i d e t h e M e d i c a l R e p o r t c o m p l e t e d b c o n t r a c t o r . F o r t h e r e s c h e d u l e a p p o i n t m e n t o ri S e w a s a t a j o b i n t e r v i e w t h a t w e n t l o n g e r t h a n e x p e c t e n o t p r o v i d e a n y i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t s h e h a d t r i e d t o c o n a p p e l l a n t a d m i t t e d t h a t s h e w a n t e d t o m o v e i n t o h e 2 0 1 4 , g e t s e t t l e d i n t o h e r p l a c e , a n d g e t h e r r e n t p a T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t , a f t e r s i g n i n g h e r E P , t h e a p p e l s c h e d u l e d w i t h t h e c o n t r a c t o r , d i d n o t p r o v i d e t h e M r e q u e s t e d b y t h e c o n t r a c t o r , a n d d i d n o t c o n t a c t t h e T o ' p a r t i c i p a t e ' i s t o t a k e p a r t i n o r t o b e a c t i v e l y i n v o r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t f a i l e d t o m p r o g r a m . e l l a n t w r o t e i n h e r R e u e s t f o r R e c A P P E A L # I r y a r g u e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s a w a r e o f t h e n s o f h e r E P . T h e m i n i s t r y a r g u e d t h a t t h e i t h t h e c o n t r a c t o r f o r S e p t e m b e r 1 6 a n d t o r t h a t s h e w a s u n a b l e t o a t t e n d h e r h e m i n i s t r y a r g u e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t s s i n g t h e S e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 a p p o i n t m e n t w i t h , o r t o c o n f i r m t h e r e a s o n t h a t s h e d i d n o t c u r e d a c c o m m o d a t i o n a n d m o v e d i n S e p t e m b e r l l a n t d i d n o t p r o v i d e t h e m e d i c a l r e p o r t c o m p l e t e d t o r . o r R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n , i s t h a t s h e h a s a n a d d i c t i o n g r e e m e n t . T h e a p p e l l a n t a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t t h e l e t e a M e d i c a l R e p o rt b u t a r g u e d t h a t i t i s d i ff i c u l t r c o m m u n i t y s i n c e s h e c a n n o t t a k e t h e b u s . T h e e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 a p p o i n t m e n t s i n c e s h e w a s s t r e s s e d e , l o o k i n g f o r j o b s a n d s c h o o l s , a n d t r y i n g t o g e t t o n t a r g u e d t h a t s h e m i s s e d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t w i t h w e n t t o a n i n t e r v i e w t h a t m o r n i n g a n d l o s t t r a c k a c t t h e c o n t r a c t o r a f t e r m i s s i n g t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o n S e p t e m b e r 2 9 a n d 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 . J u l y 2 4 , 2 0 1 4 a n d t h e E P i n c l u d e s c o n d i t i o n s t h a t e s t h a t m a y i m p a c t h e r e m p l o y a b i l i t y , c o m p l e t e u n a b l e t o a t t e n d a s e s s i o n . I t i s n o t d i s p u t e d t h a t t h e c o n t r a c t o r o n A u g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 a n d w a s g i v e n p o r t , t o b e p r o v i d e d t o t h e c o n t r a c t o r a t a l y 3 w e e k s l a t e r , o n S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 . T h e m e n t o n S e p t e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 4 b e c a u s e s h e fo r g o t i s t r y c o n f i r m e d a t t h e h e a r i n g t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t y h e r d o c t o r , a s h a d b e e n r e q u e s t e d b y t h e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 4 , t h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h a t s h e d ; h o w e v e r , 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 d i d t a c t t h e c o n t r a c t o r l a t e r t h a t s a m e d a y , a n d t h e r n e w a c c o m m o d a t i o n o n S e p t e m b e r 2 9 a n d 3 0 , i d b e f o r e s h e g o t i n t o u c h w i t h t h e c o n t r a c t o r . l a n t f a i l e d t o a t t e n d t w o o f t h e a p p o i n t m e n t s e d i c a l R e p o r t c o m p l e t e d b y h e r d o c t o r a s c o n t r a c t o r a f t e r m i s s i n g t h e s e c o n d a p p o i n t m e n t . l v e d i n , a n d 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 a k e r e a s o n a b l e e f f o r t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e o n s i d e r a t i o n t h a t s h e h a s a d r u a d d i c t i o n , t h e
p a n e l f i n d s t h a t i n t h e a b s e n c e o f a c o m p l e t e d M e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s d o c t o r a s t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a p p e l l a a s s o c i a t e d r e s t r i c t i o n s i n o r d e r t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t p a rt i c i p a t e i n h e r p r o g r a m . T h e l e g i s l a t i o n r e q u i r e s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e p r o g r a m , o r t o p r o v i d e a m e d i c a a n d 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 r e a s o n a b l y c o n r e q u i r e m e n t s h a v e n o t b e e n m e t i n t h i s c a s e . C o n c l u s i o n 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 d e c i s i o n , w h e r e b y a s s i s t a n c e p u r s u a n t t o S e c t i o n 9 o f t h e E M , w a s a 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 a p p e l l a n t a n I A P P E A L # i c a l R e p o r t , t h e r e i s n o i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y n t ' s c o n d i t i o n , t h e r e q u i r e d t r e a t m e n t , o r t h e t h e r e i s a m e d i c a l r e a s o n f o r h e r c e a s i n g t o t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d e m o n s t r a t e r e a s o n a b l e e f f o r t s l r e a s o n f o r c e a s i n g t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e p r o g r a m , c l u d e d , p u r s u a n t t o S e c t i o n 9 o f t h e E M , t h a t t h e t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s f o u n d t o b e i n 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 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 d c o n f i r m s t h e 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.