Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction

PART C – Decision under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation (Ministry) Reconsideration Decision dated October 22, 2015, which found the Appellant ineligible for income assistance due to having income from employment and Work Safe BC (WCB) benefits in excess of the legislated limit. Section 10(2) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR) states that a family unit is not eligible for income assistance if the net income of the family unit determined under Schedule B, EAR meets or exceeds the amount of income assistance determined under Schedule A. The Ministry also determined that no exemptions or deductions apply to the Appellant’s employment income and WCB payments under Schedule B of the EAR. PART D – Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR) sections 1, 10; Schedule B, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation (EAPWDR) Schedule A, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

PART E – Summary of Facts The Appellant was not in attendance at the hearing. After confirming that the Appellant was notified, the hearing proceeded under Section 86(b) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation. Information before the minister at reconsideration included: - Invoice no. 333 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $252.00. - Invoice no. 332 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $1,908.38. - Invoice no. 331 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $735.00. - Invoice no. 329 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $252.00. - Invoice no. 328 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $811.13. - Invoice no. 326 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $2,338.89. - Invoice no. 324 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $3,005.63. - Invoice no. 331 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $735.00. - Invoice no. 335 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $3,493.88. - Invoice no. 397 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $1,247.40. - Invoice no. 396 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $2,700.00. - Invoice no. 394 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $2,494.80. - Invoice no. 394 dated September 15, 2015 in the amount of $7,626.15. - Bank statements for the period August 5 to September 13, 2015. - The Appellant’s Application for Disability Assistance dated September 25, 2015. - Invoice no. 393 dated June, 2015 in the amount of $14,175.00. - Invoice no. 397 redated by hand to September 8, 2015. - Invoice no. 396 redated by hand to August 21, 2015. - Invoice no. 395 in the amount of $3,742.20, originally dated September 15, 2015, redated by hand to July 31, 2015. - Invoice no. 394 in the amount of $7,626.15 redated to July 16, 2015. - Invoice no. 392 dated June 22, 2015 in the amount of $312.35. - Invoice no. 391 dated June 22, 2015 in the amount of $415.80. - Invoice no. 390 dated June 22, 2015 in the amount of $2,079.00. - Invoice (no number) dated June 7, 2015 in the amount of $13,500.00. - Invoice no. 394 dated July 16, 2015 in the amount of $2,494.80. - Invoice no. 394 in the amount of $2,494.80 redated to July 15, 2015. - Invoice no. 339 redated to May 14, 2015. - Invoice no. 333 redated to May 14, 2015. - Bank statement for the period March 31 to April 4, 2015, with a credit amount of $2,338.88 dated April 4 circled with a notation “invoice #326”. - Invoice no. 326 redated to April 4, 2015. - Invoice no. 331 redated to April 10, 2015. - Invoice no. 332 redated to April 10, 2015. - Invoice no. 329 redated to April 3, 2015. - Invoice no. 328 originally dated September 15, 2015 redated to April 3, 2015 in the amount of $811.13. - Invoice no. 324 redated to March 8, 2015. - Bank statement for the period February 28 to September 13, 2015, with a credit amount of $1,247.40 dated September 8 circled with a notation “Invoice #397”, a notation by a credit amount of $2,700.00 dated August 21 with the notation “Invoice #396”, a credit amount of $3,200.00 dated July 31 with a notation “Invoice #395, a notation “WCB” by a credit amount of $369.74 dated July 25, a credit amount of $2,494.80 with a notation “Invoice #394”, a credit amount of $4,383.75 dated May, with a notation “No invoice”, a credit amount of $9,169.15 dated June 23 with a notation “Invoice #389”, notations of “No invoice” for credits on May 1, June 8 and April 7, a credit amount of $1,050.00 dated March 6 with a notation “Invoice #324” and a credit amount of $1,575.00 dated March 13, with a notation “Invoice

#324”. The bank statements show deposits of $369.74 in May, July and August with the notation “WCB”. - The Appellant’s Request for Reconsideration dated October 10, 2015 with a note stating that the Appellant’s computer did not change the dates on the invoices to the dates they were sent to the client, so the worker was under the assumption that the money is still owed to the Appellant and the invoices are for the last six months. He wrote that he paid his workers in cash and has no records of how much has been paid. He wrote that he coupled the invoices to the bank statements and that his company has gone bankrupt. In his Notice of Appeal to the Tribunal the Appellant wrote that his application has been misunderstood as far as earnings, etc., and that his case is more complicated than usual. At the hearing, the Ministry stated that the Appellant applied for assistance stating that he is no longer able to work. The Ministry compared the Appellant’s potential income assistance rate and disability assistance rates, including his wife as a potential recipient, and concluded that the Appellant’s income exceeded the maximum assistance for his family unit. The Ministry stated that when a person applies for disability assistance they are first assessed for income assistance, then for disability assistance. If they do not qualify for income assistance, the application is not sent on for review for disability assistance. As this was the Appellant’s situation, the application did not proceed. The Ministry stated that the Appellant appears to have ongoing Worker’s Compensation (WCB) payments deposited to his account as well as the cheque deposits.

PART F – Reasons for Panel Decision The issue in this appeal is the reasonableness of the Ministry decision which found the Appellant ineligible for income assistance due to having income from employment and Work Safe BC (WCB) benefits in excess of the legislated limit. Section 10(2) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR) states that a family unit is not eligible for income assistance if the net income of the family unit determined under Schedule B, EAR meets or exceeds the amount of income assistance determined under Schedule A. The Ministry also determined that no exemptions or deductions apply to the Appellant’s employment income and WCB payments under Schedule B of the EAR. Legislation EAR Definitions 1 (1) In this regulation: "earned income" means (a) any money or value received in exchange for work or the provision of a service, (b) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 197/2012, Sch. 1, s. 1 (a).] (c) pension plan contributions that are refunded because of insufficient contributions to create a pension, (d) money or value received from providing room and board at a person's place of residence, or (e) money or value received from renting rooms that are common to and part of a person's place of residence; "unearned income" means any income that is not earned income, and includes, without limitation, money or value received from any of the following: (a) money, annuities, stocks, bonds, shares, and interest bearing accounts or properties; (b) cooperative associations as defined in the Real Estate Development Marketing Act; (c) war disability pensions, military pensions and war veterans' allowances; (d) insurance benefits, except insurance paid as compensation for a destroyed asset; (e) superannuation benefits; (f) any type or class of Canada Pension Plan benefits; (g) employment insurance; (h) union or lodge benefits; (i) financial assistance provided under the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act or provided by another province or jurisdiction; (j) workers' compensation benefits and disability payments or pensions; (k) surviving spouses' or orphans' allowances; (l) a trust or inheritance; (m) rental of tools, vehicles or equipment;

(n) rental of land, self-contained suites or other property except the place of residence of an applicant or recipient; (o) interest earned on a mortgage or agreement for sale; (p) maintenance under a court order, a separation agreement or other agreement; (q) education or training allowances, grants, loans, bursaries or scholarships; (r) a lottery or a game of chance; (s) awards of compensation under the Criminal Injury Compensation Act or awards of benefits under the Crime Victim Assistance Act, other than an award paid for repair or replacement of damaged or destroyed property; (t) any other financial awards or compensation; (u) Federal Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments; (v) financial contributions made by a sponsor pursuant to an undertaking given for the purposes of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) or the Immigration Act (Canada); (w) tax refunds; Limits on income 10 (1) For the purposes of the Act and this regulation, "income", in relation to a family unit, includes an amount garnished, attached, seized, deducted or set off from the income of an applicant, a recipient or a dependant. (2) A family unit is not eligible for income assistance if the net income of the family unit determined under Schedule B equals or exceeds the amount of income assistance determined under Schedule A for a family unit matching that family unit. Schedule B Net Income Calculation Deduction and exemption rules 1 When calculating the net income of a family unit for the purposes of section 28 (b) [amount of income assistance] of this regulation, (a) the following are exempt from income: (i) any income earned by a dependent child attending school on a full-time basis; (ii) the basic family care rate paid in respect of a child in care; (iii) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 48/2010, Sch. 1, s. 1 (b).] (iv) a family bonus, except the portion treated as unearned income under section 10 (1) of this Schedule; (v) the basic child tax benefit; (vi) a goods and services tax credit under the Income Tax Act (Canada); (vii) a tax credit under section 8 [refundable sales tax credit], 8.1 [low income climate action tax

credit] or 8.2 [BC harmonized sales tax credit] of the Income Tax Act (British Columbia); (viii) individual redress payments granted by the government of Canada to a person of Japanese ancestry; (ix) individual payments granted by the government of Canada under the Extraordinary Assistance Plan to a person infected by the human immunodeficiency virus; (x) individual payments granted by the government of British Columbia to a person infected by the human immunodeficiency virus or to the surviving spouse or dependent children of that person; (xi) individual payments granted by the government of Canada under the Extraordinary Assistance Plan to thalidomide victims; (xii) money that is (A) paid or payable to a person if the money is awarded to the person by an adjudicative panel in respect of claims of abuse at Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and drawn from a lump sum settlement paid by the government of British Columbia, or (B) paid or payable to or for a person if the payment is in accordance with the settlement agreement approved by the Supreme Court in Action No. C980463, Vancouver Registry; (xiii) the BC earned income benefit; (xiv) money paid or payable under the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement made June 15, 1999, except money paid or payable under section 4.02 or 6.01 of Schedule A or of Schedule B of that agreement; (xv) a rent subsidy provided by the provincial government, or by a council, board, society or governmental agency that administers rent subsidies from the provincial government; (xvi) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 197/2012, Sch. 1, s. 22 (a).] (xvii) money paid or payable to a person in settlement of a claim of abuse at an Indian residential school, except money paid or payable as income replacement in the settlement; (xviii) post adoption assistance payments provided under section 28 (1) or 30.1 of the Adoption Regulation, B.C. Reg. 291/96; (xix) a rebate of energy or fuel tax provided by the government of Canada, the government of British Columbia, or an agency of either government; (xx) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 85/2012, Sch. 1, s. 5.] (xxi) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under section 8 [agreement with child's kin and others] of the Child, Family and Community Service Act; (xxii) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's At Home Program; (xxiii) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 85/2012, Sch. 1, s. 5.] (xxiv) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under an agreement referred to in section 93 (1) (g) (ii) of the Child, Family and Community Service Act, for contributions to the support of a child; (xxv) a loan that is (A) not greater than the amount contemplated by the recipient's business plan, accepted by the minister under section 77.2 of this regulation, and (B) received and used for the purposes set out in the business plan; (xxvi) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children

and Family Development's (A) Autism Funding: Under Age 6 Program, or (B) Autism Funding: Ages 6 — 18 Program; (xxvii) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 148/2015, App. 1, s. 1 (a).] (xxviii) payments made by a health authority or a contractor of a health authority to a recipient, who is a "person with a mental disorder" as defined in section 1 of the Mental Health Act, for the purpose of supporting the recipient in participating in a volunteer program or in a mental health or addictions rehabilitation program; (xxix) a refund provided under Plan I as established under the Drug Plans Regulation; (xxx) payments provided by Community Living BC to assist with travel expenses for a recipient in the family unit to attend a self-help skills program, or a supported work placement program, approved by Community Living BC; (xxxi) a Universal Child Care Benefit provided under the Universal Child Care Benefit Act (Canada); (xxxii) money paid by the government of Canada, under a settlement agreement, to persons who contracted Hepatitis C by receiving blood or blood products in Canada prior to 1986 or after July 1, 1990, except money paid under that agreement as income replacement; (xxxiii) money withdrawn from a registered disability savings plan; (xxxiv) a working income tax benefit provided under the Income Tax Act (Canada); (xxxv) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 180/2010, s. 1 (b).] (xxxvi) the climate action dividend under section 13.02 of the Income Tax Act; (xxxvii) money paid or payable to a person under the Criminal Injury Compensation Act as compensation for non-pecuniary loss or damage for pain, suffering mental or emotional trauma, humiliation or inconvenience that occurred when the person was under 19 years of age; (xxxviii) money that is paid or payable to or for a person if the payment is in accordance with the settlement agreement approved by the Supreme Court in Action No. S024338, Vancouver Registry; (xxxix) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Family Support Services program; (xl) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Supported Child Development program; (xli) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Aboriginal Supported Child Development program; (xlii) money paid or payable from a fund that is established by the government of British Columbia, the government of Canada and the City of Vancouver in relation to recommendation 3.2 of the final report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry; (xliii) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Temporary Education Support for Parents program; (xliv) a BC early childhood tax benefit; (xlv) child support; (xlvi) orphan's benefits under the Canada Pension Plan Act (Canada), (b) any amount garnished, attached, seized, deducted or set off from income is considered to be income, except the deductions permitted under sections 2 and 6 of this Schedule,

(c) all earned income must be included, except the deductions permitted under section 2 and any earned income exempted under sections 3 and 4 of this Schedule, and (d) all unearned income must be included, except the deductions permitted under section 6 and any income exempted under sections 7 and 8 of this Schedule. Deductions from earned income 2 The only deductions permitted from earned income are the following: (a) any amount deducted at source for (i) income tax, (ii) employment insurance, (iii) medical insurance, (iv) Canada Pension Plan, (v) superannuation, (vi) company pension plan, and (vii) union dues; (b) if the applicant or recipient provides both room and board to a person at the applicant's or recipient's place of residence, the essential operating costs of providing the room and board; (c) if the applicant or recipient rents rooms that are common to and part of the applicant's or recipient's place of residence, 25% of the gross rent received from the rental of the rooms. Exemption — earned income 3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the amount of earned income calculated under subsection (6) is exempt for a family unit. (2) If an application for income assistance (part 2) form is submitted to the minister, the family unit may not claim an exemption under this section in relation to the first calendar month for which the family unit becomes eligible for income assistance unless a member of the family unit received disability assistance under the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act for the calendar month immediately preceding that first calendar month. (3)-(5) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 145/2015, Sch. 1, s. 16. ] (6) The exempt amount for a family unit is the lesser of the family unit's total earned income in the calendar month of calculation and the following: (a) $200, if the family unit is not described in paragraph (b), (c) or (d); (b) $400, if the family unit (i) includes a recipient who (A) has a dependent child, or (B) provides care to a supported child, and (ii) is not described in paragraph (c) or (d); (c) $500, if (i) the family unit includes a recipient who (A) has a dependent child, or

(B) provides care to a supported child, (ii) the child has a physical or mental condition that, in the minister's opinion, precludes the recipient from leaving home for the purposes of employment or working, on average, more than 30 hours each week, and (iii) the family unit is not described in paragraph (d); (d) $500, if the family unit includes a person who has persistent multiple barriers to employment. (7) A transient is not entitled to an exemption under this section. Small business exemption 4 (1) In this section and section 5, "permitted operating expenses" means costs, charges and expenses incurred by a person in the operation of a small business, under a self-employment program in which the person is participating, for the following: (a) purchase of supplies and products; (b) accounting and legal services; (c) advertising; (d) taxes, fees, licences and dues incurred in the small business; (e) business insurance; (f) charges imposed by a savings institution on an account and interest; (f.1) payments, including principal and interest, on a loan that is (i) not greater than the amount contemplated by the recipient's business plan, accepted by the minister under section 77.2 of this regulation, and (ii) received and used for the purposes set out in the business plan; (g) maintenance and repairs to equipment; (h) gross wages paid to employees of the small business, but not including wages paid to (i) the person participating, or (ii) a person in the family unit of the person participating; (i) motor vehicle expenses; (j) premiums for employment insurance or workers' compensation benefits; (k) employer contributions for employment insurance, workers' compensation or the Canada Pension Plan; (l) rent and utilities, excluding rent and utilities for the place of residence of the persons described in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (h) unless (i) there is an increase for rent or utilities and the increase is attributable to the small business, and (ii) the increase is not provided for in the calculation of the family unit's shelter allowance under Schedule A of this regulation; (m) office expenses;