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 November 12, 2015, which found that the Appellant is not eligible for disability assistance for the month of November, 2015 pursuant to section 9 of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation (EAPWDR) because her net income exceeded her disability assistance rate. The Ministry determined that the Appellant had received unearned income as defined in s. 1,EAPWDR, employment insurance, in the amount of $1,040 in the month of September, 2015 which was to have been reported in October and deducted from her November, 2015 disability assistance is in excess of her assistance rate. The Ministry further determined that there are no applicable exemptions for the Appellant’s EI under Schedule B of the EAPWDR. PART D – Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation (EAPWDR) sections 1, , 9, 29; Schedule A, sections 1,2 4; Schedule B, sections 1, 6, 7

PART E – Summary of Facts Information before the minister at reconsideration included: - A bank statement in the Appellant’s name for the period September 1 to 30, 2015, showing a deposit of $416.00 on September 22 and a deposit of $208.00 on September 29, both with a notation “Canada”. - A document dated October 14, 2015 showing the Appellant’s Employment Insurance Claim with a benefit rate of $208.00-Regular and an entitlement period of 23 weeks, with the claim type shown as “illness”. The second page shows payments of $208 on September 27, 2015; $416 on September 20; $416 on September 7, $200 on September 11 and $416 on July 26, 2015. - A letter from the Appellant’s physician to the Ministry dated September 24, 2015 stating that the Appellant left her employment due to a medical issue and that she was under the impression that because she was receiving medical EI it was not going to affect her PWD income - A letter from the Appellant to BC Housing dated November 2, 2015 in which she stated that the Ministry has refused to pay her any assistance since August, 2015.. - The Appellant’s Request for Reconsideration dated November 4, 2015. At the hearing, the Appellant stated that she left her employment for medical reasons and was told to apply for employment insurance (EI), which she did. She could not return to work, and she was advised to apply for medical EI, which increased the number of weeks of benefit. She stated that she received a regular benefit of $208 every two weeks, but because she reported early, she received an extra week’s payment one month. The Appellant stated that because the Act and Regulation do not specifically address medical EI, she assumed it would be treated differently. She stated that there are various types of EI, and medical EI is not the same as regular EI; it increases the number of weeks of benefit, as an example. In response to questions from the Panel, the Appellant stated that she did receive $1040 in one month, and does not dispute that. The Ministry argued that the legislation does not differentiate between different types of EI, and because there were no deductions, the whole amount was considered as unearned income and deducted from the Appellant’s disability assistance for that month. In response to questions from the Panel, the Ministry stated that it is usual practice to deduct EI payments from assistance without differentiating between types of EI.

PART F – Reasons for Panel Decision The issue in this appeal is the reasonableness of the Ministry’s decision that the Appellant is not eligible for disability assistance for the month of November, 2015 because her net income exceeded her disability assistance rate. The Ministry determined that the Appellant had received unearned income as defined in s. 1, EAPWDR, employment insurance, in the amount of $1,040 in the month of September, 2015 which was to have been reported in October and deducted from her November, 2015 disability assistance. Section 9, EAPWDR states that if a recipient’s net income exceeds their assistance rate as calculated under Schedule A, EAPWDR, they are not eligible for disability assistance. Section 9, EAPWDR states that if a recipient’s net income exceeds their assistance rate as calculated under Schedule A, EAPWDR, they are not eligible for disability assistance. Legislation EAPWDR Definitions 1 (1) In this regulation: "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 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 9 (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 disability assistance if the net income of the family unit determined under Schedule B equals or exceeds the amount of disability assistance determined under Schedule A for a family unit matching that family unit. Reporting requirement 29 For the purposes of section 11 (1) (a) [reporting obligations] of the Act, (a) the report must be submitted by the 5th day of the calendar month following the calendar month in which one or more of the following occur: (i) a change that is listed in paragraph (b) (i) to (v); (ii) a family unit receives earned income as set out in paragraph (b) (vi); (iii) a family unit receives unearned income that is compensation paid under section 29 or 30 of the Workers Compensation Act as set out in paragraph (b) (vii), and (b) the information required is all of the following, as requested in the monthly report form prescribed under the Forms Regulation, B.C. Reg. 95/2012: (i) change in the family unit's assets; (ii) change in income received by the family unit and the source of that income; (iii) change in the employment and educational circumstances of recipients in the family unit; (iv) change in family unit membership or the marital status of a recipient; (v) any warrants as described in section 14.2 (1) of the Act; (vi) the amount of earned income received by the family unit in the calendar month and the source of that income; (vii) the amount of unearned income that is compensation paid under section 29 or 30 of the Workers Compensation Act received by the family unit in the calendar month.

Schedule A Disability Assistance Rates (section 24 (a) ) Maximum amount of disability assistance before deduction of net income 1 (1) Subject to this section and sections 3 and 6 to 9 of this Schedule, the amount of disability assistance referred to in section 24 (a) [amount of disability assistance] of this regulation is the sum of (a) the monthly support allowance under section 2 of this Schedule for a family unit matching the family unit of the applicant or recipient, plus (b) the shelter allowance calculated under sections 4 and 5 of this Schedule. (2) Despite subsection (1), disability assistance may not be provided in respect of a dependent child if support for that child is provided under section 8 (2) or 93 (1) (g) (ii) of the Child, Family and Community Service Act. Monthly support allowance 2 (0.1) For the purposes of this section: "deemed dependent children" , in relation to a family unit, means the persons in the family unit who are deemed to be dependent children under subsection (5); "maximum adjustment" , in relation to a family unit, means the amount the family unit would receive for a calendar month as the national child benefit supplement if (a) the family unit were entitled to receive the national child benefit supplement for the calendar month, (b) the income of the family unit, for the purposes of calculating the national child benefit supplement, were zero, and (c) all dependent children and all deemed dependent children in the family unit were qualified dependants within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada); "warrant" has the meaning of warrant in section 14.2 [consequences in relation to outstanding arrest warrants] of the Act. (1) A monthly support allowance for the purpose of section 1 (a) is the sum of (a) the amount set out in Column 3 of the following table for a family unit described in Column 1 of an applicant or a recipient described in Column 2, plus (b) the amount calculated in accordance with subsections (2) to (4) for each dependent child in the family unit. Column 2 Column 3 Column 1 Item Age or status of applicant or Amount of Family unit composition recipient support

1 Sole applicant/recipient and no Applicant/recipient is a person with $531.42 dependent children disabilities Monthly shelter allowance 4 (1) For the purposes of this section: "family unit" includes a child who is not a dependent child and who resides in the parent's place of residence for not less than 40% of each month, under the terms of an order or an agreement referred to in section 1 (2) of this regulation; "warrant" has the meaning of warrant in section 14.2 [consequences in relation to outstanding arrest warrants] of the Act. (2) The monthly shelter allowance for a family unit to which section 14.2 of the Act does not apply is the smaller of (a) the family unit's actual shelter costs, and (b) the maximum set out in the following table for the applicable family size: Column 1 Column 2 Item Family Unit Size Maximum Monthly Shelter 1 1 person $375 Schedule B Net Income Calculation (section 24 (b) ) Deduction and exemption rules 1 When calculating the net income of a family unit for the purposes of section 24 (b) [amount of disability 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. 2 (c).] (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. 2, s. 11 (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) money paid by the government of British Columbia, under a written agreement, to a person with disabilities or to a trustee for the benefit of a person with disabilities to enable the person with disabilities to live in the community instead of in an institution; (xxi) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 85/2012, Sch. 2, s. 7.] (xxii) 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; (xxiii) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's At Home Program; (xxiv) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 85/2012, Sch. 2, s. 7.] (xxv) 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; (xxvi) a loan that is (A) not greater than the amount contemplated by the recipient's business plan, accepted by the minister under section 70.1 of this regulation, and

(B) received and used for the purposes set out in the business plan; (xxvii) 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; (xxviii) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 148/2015, App. 2, s. 1 (a).] (xxix) 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; (xxx) a refund provided under Plan I as established under the Drug Plans Regulation; (xxxi) 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; (xxxii) a Universal Child Care Benefit provided under the Universal Child Care Benefit Act (Canada); (xxxiii) 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; (xxxiv) money withdrawn from a registered disability savings plan; (xxxv) a working income tax benefit provided under the Income Tax Act (Canada); (xxxvi) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 180/2010, s. 2 (b).] (xxxvii) the climate action dividend under section 13.02 of the Income Tax Act; (xxxviii) 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; (xxxix) 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; (xl) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Family Support Services program; (xli) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Supported Child Development program; (xlii) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Ministry of Children and Family Development's Aboriginal Supported Child Development program; (xliii) 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; (xliv) payments granted by the government of British Columbia under the Temporary Education Support for Parents program; (xlv) a BC early childhood tax benefit; (xlvi) child support; (xlvii) 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, (c) all earned income must be included, except the deductions permitted under section 2 and any earned income exempted under sections 3 and 4, and (d) all unearned income must be included, except the deductions permitted under section 6 and any income exempted under sections 7 and 8. Deductions from unearned income 6 The only deductions permitted from unearned income are the following: (a) any income tax deducted at source from employment insurance benefits; (b) essential operating costs of renting self-contained suites. Exemptions — unearned income 7 (0.1) In this section: "disability-related cost" means a disability-related cost referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (e) of the definition of disability-related cost in section 12 (1) [assets held in trust for person with disabilities] of this regulation; "disability-related cost to promote independence" means a disability-related cost referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of disability-related cost in section 12 (1) of this regulation; "intended registered disability savings plan or trust" , in relation to a person referred to in section 12.1 (2) [temporary exemption of assets for person with disabilities or person receiving special care] of this regulation, means an asset, received by the person, to which the exemption under that section applies; "structured settlement annuity payment" means a payment referred to in subsection (2) (b) (iii) made under the annuity contract referred to in that subsection. (1) The following unearned income is exempt: (a) the portion of interest from a mortgage on, or agreement for sale of, the family unit's previous place of residence if the interest is required for the amount owing on the purchase or rental of the family unit's current place of residence; (b) $50 of each monthly Federal Department of Veterans Affairs benefits paid to any person in the family unit; (c) a criminal injury compensation award or other award, except the amount that would cause the family unit's assets to exceed, at the time the award is received, the limit applicable under section 10 [asset limits] of this regulation; (d) a payment made from a trust to or on behalf of a person referred to in section 12 (1) [assets held in trust for person with disabilities] of this regulation if the payment is applied exclusively to or used exclusively for (i) disability-related costs, (ii) the acquisition of a family unit's place of residence,