APPEAL# I PART C -Decision under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (the ministry) Reconsideration Decision dated October 27, 2014 which held that the appellant was not eligible for income assistance for the period of January 2014 through to September 2014 because she was residing with her spouse during that time. Pursuant to section 27 of the Employment and Assistance Act, she is required to repay the government the income assistance she received as a sole recipient without dependants. PART D -Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance Act (EAA), Section 1, definitions of "family unit", "dependant" and "spouse". Sections 11, 27 and 28. Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR), Section 5. EAAT 003(10/06/01)
I APPEAL# PART E-Summarv of Facts The evidence before the ministry at the time of reconsideration included: • An Income Tax Return "2013" for the appellant indicating her marital status as "SEPARATED". • A hydro bill for Mr. B with a pay by date of July 15, 2014 at the same address as the appellant. • A receipt for part rent in the appellant's name for $600, at the appellant's address dated July 1, 2014 and signed by the landlord. • A receipt for part rent in the appellant's name for $600, at the appellant's address dated September 1, 2014 and signed by the landlord. • The appellant's Request For Reconsideration dated October 15, 2014 which included a letter written by the appellant who stated that she applied for help in December due to her health and being unable to work at that time. She is currently working part time and looking for full time work. She stated that when she applied for help she had just rented a room "temporarily" at her present address while she found a safe place to live, since the building she had been living in was unsafe. She indicated that being on assistance is an insecure way to live as one worker tells you to move and get your health back and then another tells you that you will not receive a cheque in October. The first worker had indicated to the appellant that she should be ok for at least a year. The appellant noted that she and Mr. B were married a long time ago, remained friends, and he was helping her as a friend. The appellant indicated that she should be back in her own space over the next month or so. The appellant also stated that she doesn't feel that she did anything wrong, was honest and gave any information that was requested. She does not feel that she should nor can she afford to pay for a mistake that wasn't hers. At the hearing, the appellant testified that she has been separated from Mr. B for 15-20 years and that they live in a home where they each have their own bedroom and share a kitchen, bathroom and living area. The appellant made the point that they share nothing else. They are not in a marriage-like relationship, do not present as a couple and do not have money for a divorce. The appellant indicated that Mr. B's roommate passed away and rather than the landlord finding a new tenant, Mr. B recommended the appellant to the landlord as a favour to her. Mr. B is on disability assistance and is in no position to support the appellant. The appellant stated that her El ran out and she went to the ministry for assistance and has been honest with them all along. She added that no one will be living in the house after January due to its poor condition. The ministry stood by the reconsideration decision. When asked by the panel if there was any objection to accepting the appellant's testimony about the separate living arrangements, the ministry representative stated none at all, as it does not affect the decision as they reside together. The panel has admitted the appellant's testimony as being in support of information and records that were before the ministry at the time of reconsideration, in accordance with section 22(4) of the EAR as this new information helps clarify the appellant's living situation and corroborates her previous testimony. EAAT003(10/06/01)
APPEAL# I Findings of Fact The appellant applied as a single person for assistance on January 15, 2014 and was issued benefits from January 2014-September 2014. The appellant and Mr. B have not divorced. The appellant and Mr. B reside in the same two-bedroom house and share the same residential address. Both parties agreed that the ministry was aware that the appellant was residing with Mr. B to whom she was married at the time of her application. EMT 003(10/06/01)
I AP PEAL# PART F -Reasons for Panel D e cisio n T he i ssue in this appeal is whet her the ministry reasonably de t e rmined that th e a ppellant w a s not eligible f or income assi st ance fo r the period of January 2014 t h r oug h to September 2014 because she w a s residin g with he r spouse durin g that time and wh ethe r the i nco m e received by the appell a n t as a sole recipi e nt without dependants is required to be rep a i d to the govern m e nt. Specifica lly, the i ssue i s wh ether the ministry's de cision is reasonably supp orte d by the ev i den c e , or is a reasonable appl i cat i on of the legislat i o n in the circ umstances of the appella nt . The re levant legislation is as follo ws : Employment and A ssis tanc e A c t Sec t i on 1, definitions of "fami ly u nit", "dependa nt" a n d "spouse". "fa m ily unit" means an a pplicant or a recipient and h is o r h er d ependants; "dependant", in re lation to a person, means any one w h o resides wit h the per son and w h o (a) i s t h e spouse of t he perso n, ( b) is a d e pend e n t c hil d of the person , o r ( c ) ind ic a tes a pa ren tal r ol e for t h e person's depe nde nt child; "spo use" 1.1 (1 ) T wo persons , including pers o n s of the same gende r, a r e s p ous es of e a ch other fo r t h e purposes of this A ct if (a ) t hey are m arried t o e a c h othe r, or (b) the y acknow l e dge to the m in ister that the y are res iding tog e the r i n a marriage -like r elations h i p. (2) Two persons who res ide tog eth er , i n cludin g perso n s of the same g e nder, ar e s p ous es o f eac h oth er fo r the purpo s es of this Ac t if ( a) they have r eside d to ge t h er for at least ( i) t h e p r ev i ou s 3 c o nsecuti v e m ont hs, or (ii) 9 of the pre vi ous 12 m onth s , a n d (b) t h e minist er is sa tisfied that t h e relationsh ip demons trates (i ) financial d ep en dence or inte r d epen den c e , an d (ii) soc i a l and fam ilial inter d ep ende nc e , consisten t wit h a mar ri a ge-lik e rel ati o nship. Section s 11, 27 and 28. Reporting obligati ons 11 (1 ) F o r a family u ni t t o b e eligible for i n c ome a s sistan c e , a reci p ie nt, in the manner and within the time sp e c i f ie d by regulation, must (a) submit to the minister a report that (i) is in the f o rm prescribed by the minis ter, and (ii) contains the prescribed information, and (b) notify the min i ster of any cha nge in c ircumst an ces or information th at (i) m ay a ffect the elig ibility of the family unit, and (ii) was previously provided to the minister. (2) A report under s u bsection (1) (a) is deemed not to have been submitted unless the accuracy of the information p rovid ed i n it is aff i r me d by the signature of each recipient. Overpayments 27 (1) If inco me assistanc e , hardship a ssistance or a s u pplement is provided t o o r f or a family unit that i s not eligible for it, recipien t s who are me mbers of the family u nit du r i ng the period for which the overpayment is provided are liable to repay to the government the amount or value of the overpaym en t provided for tha t period. (2) The minister's decision about the amount a person is liable to repay under subsection (1) is not appealable under section 17 (3) [reconsideration and app e al rights]. Liability f o r and recove ry of debts under Act EAAT 003(10/06/01)
2 8 ( 1 ) A n a m o u n t t h a t a p e r s o n i s l i a b l e t o r e p a y u n d e r t h i s A ( a ) r e c o v e r e d i n a c o u r t t h a t h a s j u r i s d i c t i o n , o r ( b ) d e d u c t e d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e r e g u l a t i o n s , f r o m a n y s u b s u p p l e m e n t f o r w h i c h t h e p e r s o n ' s f a m i l y u n i t i s e l i g i b l e o r f r o m u n d e r a p r e s c r i b e d e n a c t m e n t . ( 2 ) S u b j e c t t o t h e r e g u l a t i o n s , t h e m i n i s t e r m a y e n t e r i n t o a n a o f a n a m o u n t r e f e r r e d t o i n s u b s e c t i o n ( 1 ) . ( 3 ) A n a g r e e m e n t u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n ( 2 ) m a y b e e n t e r e d i n t o b e s u p p l e m e n t t o w h i c h i t r e l a t e s i s p r o v i d e d . ( 4 ) A p e r s o n i s j o i n t l y a n d s e p a r a t e l y l i a b l e f o r a d e b t r e f e r r e d u n i t w h i l e t h e p e r s o n w a s a r e c i p i e n t i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t . 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 A p p l i c a n t r e q u i r e m e n t s 5 ( 1 ) F o r a f a m i l y u n i t 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 o r a i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e o r s u p p l e m e n t o n b e h a l f o f t h e f a m i l y u n i t u ( a ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t d o e s n o t i n c l u d e a n a d u l t , o r ( b ) t h e s p o u s e o f a n a d u l t a p p l i c a n t h a s n o t r e a c h e d 1 9 y e a r s a p p l i c a n t . T h e m i n i s t r y ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t p m a r r i e d t o M r . 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P a n e l ' s F i n d i n g s T h e p a n e l a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t t h e l e g i s l a t i o n i s s p e c " s p o u s e " a n d t h a t t h e m i n i s t r y h a s n o d i s c r e t i o n w i t h a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t d o a n y t h i n g w r o n g a n d t h a t t h i s s i t 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 d e t e r m i a c c o r d i n g l y t h a t M r . B i s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s p o u s e a s d a p p e l l a n t a n d M r . B r e s i d e t o g e t h e r , h e i s a d e p e n d a E A A . S e c t i o n 5 o f t h e E A R p r o v i d e s t h a t i n c o m e a s e n t i r e f a m i l y u n i t w h i c h i s a n a p p l i c a n t a n d h i s o r h e 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 w a s n o t e l w i t h n o d e p e n d a n t s a n d t h a t p u r s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 2 7 a s s i s t a n c e f o r w h i c h s h e w a s n o t e l i g i b l e . T h e o a n e l EAA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )A P P E A L # I c t i s a d e b t d u e t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t t h a t m a y b e s e q u e n t i n c o m e a s 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 n a m o u n t p a y a b l e t o t h e p e r s o n b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t g r e e m e n t , o r a c c e p t a n y r i g h t a s s i g n e d , f o r t h e r e p a y m e n t f o r e o r a f t e r t h e i n c o m e a s 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 t o u n d e r s u b s e c t i o n ( 1 ) t h a t a c c r u e d i n r e s p e c t o f a f a m i l y s u p p l e m e n t , a n a d u l t i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t m u s t a p p l y f o r t h e n l e s s o f a g e , i n w h i c h c a s e t h a t s p o u s e m u s t a p p l y w i t h t h e a d u l t r o v i d e d a n y i n f o r m a t i o n t o s h o w t h a t s h e i s n o t f i e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h M r . B a n d " s p o u s e " u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 . 1 o r t h e E A A d a r e m a r r i e d t o e a c h o t h e r . F o r t h e p e r i o d o f i v e d a s s i s t a n c e a s a s o l e r e c i p i e n t w i t h n o t t i m e . A s a r e s u l t t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e d v e a n d i s r e q u i r e d t o r e p a y t h e g o v e r n m e n t . g w r o n g , w a s h o n e s t a l l a l o n g a n d g a v e a n y d o e s n o t f e e l t h a t s h e s h o u l d n o r c a n s h e a f f o r d a l s o a r g u e s t h a t s h e a n d M r . B l i v e i n a b o a r d i n g n d l o r d , s h a r e o n l y c o m m o n a r e a s a n d h a v e n o t n d h e l p i n g o u t a n o t h e r a n d n e i t h e r s h e n o r M r . B i f i c i n t e r m s o f i t s d e f i n i t i o n o f a " d e p e n d a n t " a n d i t s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e u a t i o n a r o s e f r o m a m i n i s t e r i a l e r r o r . n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d M r . B a r e m a r r i e d a n d e f i n e d i n s e c t i o n 1 . 1 o f t h e E A A a n d t h a t a s t h e n t o f t h e a p p e l l a n t p u r s u a n t t o s e c t i o n 1 o f t h e s i s t a n c e m u s t b e a p p l i e d f o r o n b e h a l f o f t h e r d e p e n d a n t s . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e m i n i s t r y 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 a s a s i n g l e r e c i p i e n t o f t h e E A A s h e i s r e q u i r e d t o r e p a y i n c o m e t h e r e f o r e c o n f i r m s t h e m i n i s t ry 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.