P A R T C D E C I S I O N U N D E R A P P E A L T h e d e c i s i o n u n d e r a p p e a l i s t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e P o v e r t y R e d u c t i o n ( m i n i s t r y ) d a t e d 5 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 f o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e u n d e r t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d ( E A P W D R ) f o r t h e m o n t h s o f O c t o b e r a n d N o v e m b w a s i n e l i g i b l e b e c a u s e s h e r e c e i v e d u n e a r n e d i n c o b e n e f i t s a n d C a n a d a P e n s i o n P l a n ( C P P } , i n e x c e s t h e r e a r e n o d e p e n d e n t c h i l d r e n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t . P A R T D R E L E V A N T L E G I S L A T I O N E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b c i s i o n o f t h e M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d 7 , w h i c h 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 i s n o t e l i g i b l e A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n e r 2 0 1 7 . T h e m i n i s t r 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 m e , i n t h e f o r m o f E m p l o y m e n t I n s u r a n c e ( E l ) s o f i n c o m e a s s i s t a n c e r a t e s f o r h e r f a m i l y u n i t a n d i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n , s e c t i o n 1 i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n , s e c t i o n 9 i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n , s e c t i o n 3 5 i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n , s e c t i o n 3 9
P A R T E S U M M A R Y 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 t t h e s c h e h a d b e e n n o t i f i e d o f h e a r i n g , t h e h e a r i n g p r o c e e d e d I n f o r m a t i o n b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t r y a t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n • T h e a p p e l l a n t i s a s o l e r e c i p i e n t o f d i s a b i l i t y • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m o n t h l y a s s i s t a n c e a m o u n t t r a n s p o rt a t i o n a l l o w a n c e ) ; • T h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e s C a n a d a P e n s i o n P l a h e r m o n t h l y a s s i s t a n c e ; • I n A u g u s t 2 0 1 7 t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e d E l b e a p p e l l a n t ' s O c t o b e r 2 0 1 7 a s s i s t a n c e ; • I n S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 7 t h e a p p e l l a n t r e c e i v e d E a p p e l l a n t ' s N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 a s s i s t a n c e ; • T h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u e s t e d h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c h a d n o t r e c e i v e d a s s i s t a n c e s i n c e S e p t e m b f a m i l y ; a n d • T h e r e q u e s t f o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e w a s d e 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 I n t h e 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 2 1 N o v e m h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e s h o u l d b e a p p r o v e d b e c a u s e c O c t o b e r c a u s e d h e r t o i n c u r a n i n o r d i n a t e a m o u n t o h e r o w n e x p e n s e t o c a r e f o r a s i c k f a m i l y m e m b e r . s a v i n g s s h e h a d m a n a g e d t o a c c r u e . I n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d o n a p p e a l : N o t i c e o f A p p e a l I n t h e N o t i c e o f A p p e a l d a t e d 1 1 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7 , t D I SA G R E E w i t h t h e i r d e c i s i o n b e c a u s e th e y t a k e m w e n t f ro m m e d i c a l E l t o r e g u l a r E I a t t h e e n d o f S e p c o u l d g e t o n t o E l . H e a r i n g S u b m i s s i o n s A p p e l l a n t 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 . M i n i s t ry T h e m i n i s t r y r e l i e d o n t h e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n . A d m i s s i b i l i t y T h e p a n e l h a s d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v o f a r g u m e n t a n d w i l l b e c o n s i d e r e d o n t h a t b a s i s . A b e f o r e i t t h a t r e q u i r e s a n a d m i s s i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d A s s i s t a n c e A c t .d u l e d d a t e a n d t i m e . A ft e r v e r i f y i n g t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t u n d e r s e c t i o n 8 6 ( b ) o f t h e E A R . c l u d e d t h e f o l l o w i n g : a s s i s t a n c e ; i s $ 1 1 3 3 . 4 2 ( $ 7 0 6 . 4 2 s u p p o rt , $ 3 7 5 s h e l t e r a n d $ 5 2 n ( C P P ) b e n e f i t s o f $ 5 3 0 . 3 9 , w h i c h i s d e d u c t e d f r o m n e f i t s o f $ 2 2 6 5 , w h i c h w a s d e d u c t e d f r o m t h e l b e n e f i t s o f $ 8 7 2 , w h i c h w a s d e d u c t e d f r o m t h e e f o r O c t o b e r a n d N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 , s t a t i n g t h a t s h e e r a n d h a d b e e n j u g g l i n g b i l l s a n d a d e a t h i n t h e n i e d . b e r 2 0 1 7 , t h e a p p e l l a n t w r o t e t h a t h e r r e q u e s t f o r i r c u m s t a n c e s b e y o n d h e r c o n t r o l i n t h e m o n t h o f f e x p e n s e s . S h e h a d t o t r a v e l t o a n o t h e r p r o v i n c e a t T h e t r i p l a s t e d t w o w e e k s a n d d e p l e t e d t h e m e a g r e h e a p p e l l a n t g a v e a s r e a s o n s f o r a p p e a l : / y E l + C P P o ff m y c h e c k fo r d o ll a r f o r d o ll a r a n d I t e m b e r a n d h a d t o wa i t 2 1 d a y s fo r E l ' s d e c i s i o n i f I i d e d b y t h e a p p e l l a n t i n t h e N o t i c e o f A p p e a l c o n s i s t s s s u c h , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a t t h e r e i s n o i n f o r m a t i o n i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h s e c t i o n 2 2 ( 4 ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t
P A R T F R E A S O N S F O R P A N E L D E C I S I O N T h e i s s u e i n t h i s a p p e a l i s w h e t h e r t h e m i n i s t ry ' s d e n o t e l i g i b l e f o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e f o r t h e m o n t h s o s u p p o rt e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e o r i s a r e a s o n a b l e a p p l i c a p p e l l a n t . A P P L I C A B L E L E G I S L A T I O N E A P W D R : D e f i n i t i o n s 1 ( 1 ) I n t h i s r e g u l a t i o n : " u n e a r n e d i n c o m e " m e a n s a n y i n c o m e t h a m o n e y o r v a l u e r e c e i v e d f r o m a n y o f t h e fo ( f ) a n y t y p e o r c l a s s o f C a n a d a P e ( g ) e m p l o y m e n t i n s u r a n c e ; L i m i t s o n i n c o m e 9 ( 1 ) F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f t h e A c t a n d t h i s r e g u l a t i o n , " i n g a r n i s h e d , a t t a c h e d , s e i z e d , d e d u c t e d o r s e t o f f f r o ( 2 ) A f a m i l y u n i t i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n S c h e d u l e B e q u a l s . o r e x c e e d s t h e a m o u n t o f d i s a b u n i t m a t c h i n g t h a t f a m i l y u n i t . H a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e e l i g i b i l i t y a n d l i m i t a t i o n s 3 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 h a r d s h i p ( a ) m u s t b e i n e l i g i b l e f o r d i n s e c t i o n s 3 7 t o 4 1 , a n d ( b ) m u s t n o t b e i n e l i g i b l e f ( 2 ) A f a m i l y u n i t t h a t i s e l i g i b l e f o r h a r d s h a s s i s t a n c e ( a ) i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h S c h ( b ) o n l y f o r t h e c a l e n d a r m s u b m i s s i o n o f t h e a p p l i c a t ( c ) s u b j e c t t o s e c t i o n 4 ( 2 ) m o n t h o n w h i c h t h e m i n i s t h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e . ( 3 ) A f a m i l y u n i t t o w h i c h h a r d s h i p a s s i s t m o n t h s b e c a u s e o f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s d e s h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e u n d e r a n y o f t h o s e s e i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g t h o s e 3 c a l e n d a r m o n t h s [ e n . B . C . R e g . 1 6 3 ; 1 4 9 / 2 0 1 5 , S c h F a m i l y u n i t s t h a t h a v e e x c e s s i n c o m e 3 9 T h e m i n i s t e r m a y p r o v i d e h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e t o b e c a u s e t h e i n c o m e o f t h e f a m i l y u n i t e x c e e d ( a ) t h e m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s t ( b ) t h e a p p l i c a n t p r o v i d e s t r e p a y m e n t o f t h e h a r d s h i p ( c ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n c l u d e s ( d ) t h e i n c o m e t h a t c a u s e s c o u l d n o t , i n t h e m i n i s t e r ' s f a m i l v u n i t ' s b a s i c n e e d s .t e r m i n a t i o n , w h i c h 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 i s f O c t o b e r a n d N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 , i s r e a s o n a b l y a t i o n o f t h e l e g i s l a t i o n i n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e t i s n o t e a r n e d i n c o m e , a n d i n c l u d e s , w i t h o u t l i m i t a t i o n , l l o w i n g : n s i o n P l a n b e n e f i t s ; c o m e " , i n r e l a t i o n t o a f a m i l y u n i t , i n c l u d e s a n a m o u n t m t h e i n c o m e o f a n a p p l i c a n t , a r e c i p i e n t o r a d e p e n d a n t . c e i f t h e n e t i n c o m e o f t h e f a m i l y u n i t d e t e r m i n e d u n d e r i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e d e t e r m i n e d u n d e r S c h e d u l e A f o r a f a m i l y a s s i s t a n c e , t h e f a m i l y u n i t i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f o r o n e o r m o r e r e a s o n s s e t o u t o r d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f o r a n y o t h e r r e a s o n . i p a s s i s t a n c e m u s t b e p r o v i d e d w i t h h a r d s h i p e d u l e D , o n t h t h a t c o n t a i n s t h e d a t e o f t h e a p p l i c a n t ' s i o n f o r d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e ( p a r t 2 ) f o r m , a n d o f S c h e d u l e D , o n l y f r o m t h e d a t e i n t h a t c a l e n d a r e r d e t e r m i n e s t h a t t h e f a m i l y u n i t i s e l i g i b l e f o r a n c e h a s b e e n p r o v i d e d fo r 3 c o n s e c u t i v e c a l e n d a r c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 3 7 , 3 9 o r 4 1 i s n o t e l i g i b l e f o r c t i o n s fo r t h e 3 c o n s e c u t i v e c a l e n d a r m o n t h s o f r e c e i p t . 1 / 2 0 0 4 , s . 3 ; a m . B . C . R e g s . 3 0 6 / 2 0 0 5 , s . 5 ; 1 0 2 / 2 0 0 8 , s . . s . 6 . ] a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t i s n o t e l i g i b l e fo r d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e s t h e l i m i t u n d e r s e c t i o n 9 [l i m i t s o n i n c o m e ] i f h a t u n d u e h a r d s h i p w i l l o t h e rw i s e o c c u r , h e t y p e o f s e c u r i t y s p e c i f i e d b y t h e m i n i s t e r f o r t h e a s s i s t a n c e , o n e o r m o r e d e p e n d e n t c h i l d r e n , a n d t h e f a m i l y u n i t t o b e i n e l i g i b l e f o r d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e o p i n i o n , r e a s o n a b l y b e e x p e c t e d t o b e u s e d t o m e e t t h e
I In the reconsideration decision, the ministry explained that the appellant was not eligible for October and November 2017 disability assistance because the CPP and El income received exceeded the shelter/support/transportation allowance of $1133.42 for which a sole recipient is eligible. The ministry then considered the appellant's request for hardship assistance, noting that a f a mily unit may be eligible for hardship assistance if they are not ineligible for the reasons set out at section 44 of the regulation. The ministry noted that this section of the regulation allows hardship assistance to be provided to a family unit that is not eligible for disability assistance due to excess income if the family unit includes one or more dependent children. The ministry stated that the appellant has no dependent children included on her file and concluded that she was not eligible for hardship assistance. The panel notes that in the reconsideration decision the ministry has erroneously referred to section 44 (Christmas Supplement), rather than section 39 (Family units with excess income) of the applicable regulation. The panel also notes that section 39 of the EAPWDR is identical to section 44 of the Employment and Assistance Regulation (EAR). The panel finds this to be a non-material error as it is clear from the language used in the reconsideration decision that ministry is discussing the "Family units with excess income" provision. In order to be eligible for hardship assistance where a family unit has excess income, the following four criteria (set out at section 39 of the EAPWDR and section 44 of the EAR) must be met: (a) the minister considers that undue hardship will otherwise occur, (b) the applicant provides the type of security specified by the minister for the repayment of the hardship assistance, (c) the family unit includes one or more dependent children, and (d) the income that causes the family unit to be ineligible for disability assistance could not, in the minister's opinion, reasonably be expected to be used to meet the family unit's basic needs. The panel notes that the ministry has addressed only the third of these criteria in the reconsideration decision and the appellant has addressed only the first of these criteria in her arguments at reconsideration and on appeal. The appellant argued at reconsideration that circumstances beyond her control required her to deplete her savings travelling to another province in the month of October to care for a f a mily member, which the panel finds speaks to undue hardship. On appeal the appellant has made two arguments. First, she argued that she disagrees with the ministry deducting CPP and El dollar for dollar. The panel finds that this argument does not speak to any of the criteria for hardship assistance. Second, the appellant argued that it took 21 days for her to receive a decision from El regarding her transition from medical El to regular El, which the panel finds relates to undue hardship. The panel notes that the ministry's reconsideration decision does not address the appellant's arguments in relation to the first criterion. In the reconsideration decision, the ministry determined that the appellant is not eligible because she does not have any dependent children. The appellant does not dispute the ministry's conclusion on this criterion in her arguments. The panel notes that all four criteria set out in the regulation are mandatory; there is no discretion. This means that each criterion must be met in order for an applicant to receive hardship assistance. As such, the panel finds that the ministry's determination that the appellant is ineligible for hardship assistance because she has not met one of the four criteria is a reasonable application of the legislation in the circumstances of the appellant. Conclusion The panel finds that the ministry's reconsideration decision, determining that the appellant was not eligible for October and November 2017 hardship assistance, was a reasonable application of the legislation in the circumstances of the appellant. The panel confirms the ministry's reconsideration decision. The appellant is not successful on appeal.
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