PART C -DECISION UNDER APPEAL The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (ministry's) reconsideration decision dated October 26, 2018 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 his Employment Plan (EP), due to his failure to demonstrate reasonable efforts to participate in the employment-related program and with no medical reason for ceasing to participate. PART D -RELEVANT LEGISLATION Employment and Assistance Act (EAA), Section 9
PART E -SUMMARY OF FACTS The appellant did not attend the hearing. After confirming that the appellant was notified, the hearing proceeded under Section 86(b) of the Employment and Assistance Regulation. The evidence before the ministry at the time of the reconsideration decision included: 1) Letter dated March 1 4 , 2018 to the appellant in which the ministry enclosed the Employment Plan (EP) for signature and wrote that a decision on his eligibility will be determined once all documentation is reviewed by the ministry; 2) EP signed by the appellant and dated March 21, 2018. The terms of the EP include to: • Meet with the EP contractor on a regular basis. • Take part in the contractor program activities as agreed to with the contractor; • Complete all tasks given to him, including any activities set out in his Action Plan; • Call the contractor if he is unable to attend a session, or when he finds work; 3 ) Letter dated July 4, 2018 to the appellant in which the ministry directed the appellant to contact his EP worker directly by telephone; 4 ) Record of Employment (ROE) dated July 6, 2018 which indicated that the appellant commenced work on June 20, 2018, was dismissed by the employer, and last worked on June 29, 2018; 5) Letter dated August 23, 2018 to the appellant in which the ministry wrote that the appellant must provide the ministry with a ROE from his employer and contact his EP worker by telephone by September 21, 2018 to ensure that his assistance cheque is not delayed; and, 6 ) Request for Reconsideration dated March 13, 2017. In his Request for Reconsideration, the appellant wrote: • He advised the ministry that he quit his job as he could not get to the other community for the late-night shift as the last bus leaves much earlier in the evening. • He attempted to ride his bicycle home from work but it was too dangerous at that time of the night. • He considered other ways of getting to and from work but none was possible. • Coming out of a treatment center and now living in a supportive independent living program, he believed that his progress in his addiction recovery was more important at that time as he continued to search for employment. Additional information In his Notice of Appeal dated November 6, 2018, the appellant expressed his disagreement with the ministry's reconsi deration decision and wrote that he was actively looking for work and he acquired work recently. The appellant wrote that he has been working on his recovery from addictions and relapse prevention.
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 h e a r i n g , t h e m i n i s t ry c l a r i f i e d t h a t : • T h e E P r e q u i r e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t m u s t a n d t h e y w o u l d d e v e l o p a n A c t i o n P l a n t b e c o m e m o r e e m p l o y a b l e . S o m e t i m e s t h e A c t i o n P l a n , b u t t h e r e w a s n o P l a n o • T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s l a s t d a y o f w o r k w a s J u n E P c o n t r a c t o r o n J u l y 3 , 2 0 1 8 a n d w h e n c o n t r a c t o r , h i s f i l e w a s c l o s e d . T h e m i n i c l o s e d b y t h e E P c o n t r a c t o r q u i t e q u i c k l y c o n n e c t w i t h t h e a p p e l l a n t t o c l a r i fy h i s a o f J u n e 2 0 1 8 . T h e m i n i s t r y s e n t l e t t e r s t t h e E P c o n t r a c t o r a n d t h e m i n i s t r y . • T h e m i n i s t r y n e e d s m o r e t h a n j u s t a d e c c o n t i n u e d r e c o v e r y f r o m a d d i c t i o n o r t h a • T h e m i n i s t r y r e l i e s o n t h e a p p e l l a n t t o p r w i t h t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e t r e a t m e n t t h e s p e c i f i c d a t e s o f t h e r e q u i r e d a c t i v i t i e w i t h t h e E P c o n t r a c t o r . • I f t h e a p p e l l a n t h a d p r o v i d e d t h e m i n i s t ry f o r a n i n d e p e n d e n t w o r k s e a r c h , t h e n h i c o u l d t h e n c o n t i n u e t o e n g a g e i n a n i n d e s h o w n t h a t h e h a s a c h i e v e d a l e v e l o f e m T h e p a n e l c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o a d d i t i o a d m i s s i b i l i t y w a s r e q u i r e d u n d e r S e c t i o n 2 2 ( 4 ) ( i o n , a s s u m m a r i z e d a t t h e h e a r i n g . A t t h e m e e t w i t h t h e E P c o n t r a c t o r o n a r e g u l a r b a s i s , o g e t h e r w i t h t h e g o a l o f h e l p i n g t h e c l i e n t t h e c l i e n t w i l l p r o v i d e t h e m i n i s t r y w i t h a c o p y o f n f i l e w i t h t h e m i n i s t r y i n t h i s c a s e . e 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 a n d t h e i n f o r m a t i o n w a s g i v e n t o t h e t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t r e c o n n e c t w i t h t h e E P s t r y a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f i l e w a s , a n d s t a t e d t h a t t h e m i n i s t ry c o n t i n u e d t o t ry t o c t i v i t i e s s i n c e h e l e ft h i s e m p l o y m e n t a t t h e e n d o t h e a p p e l l a n t i n a n e ff o rt t o g e t h i m t o c o n t a c t l a r a t i o n b y t h e c l i e n t t h a t h e w a s w o r k i n g o n h i s t h e i s l o o k i n g fo r w o r k . o v i d e f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t h i s e ff o r t s t o w o r k c e n t e r . T h e e x p e c t a t i o n i s t h a t h e w o u l d s e t o u t s t h a t w o u l d i n t e rf e r e w i t h h i s a b i l i t y t o a l s o w o r k w i t h a d e t a i l e d l o g o f t h e e ff o r t s h e h a d m a d e s E P w o u l d l i k e l y h a v e b e e n u p d a t e d a n d h e p e n d e n t W o r k S e a r c h , e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e h e h a s p l o y a b i l i t y w i t h h i s o b t a i n i n g a j o b i n J u n e 2 0 1 8 . n a l i n fo r m a t i o n f o r w h i c h a d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f b ) o f t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s is ta n c e A c 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 o n a p p e a l i s w h e t h e r t h e m i n i s t r y ' s c t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f h i s E P , d u e t o h i s f a i l u r e t o d e e m p l o y m e n t r e l a t e d p r o g r a m a n d w i t h n o m e d i t h e r e f o r e , 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 f o r i n c o m E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e A c t ( E AA ) i s r e a s o 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 e n a c t m E m p l o y m e n t p l a n 9 ( 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 i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t , w h e n r e q u i r e d t o d o s o b y t h e m ( a ) e n t e r i n t o a n e m p l o y m e n t p l a n , a n d ( b ) c o m p l y w i t h t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e e m p l o y m e n t ( 2 ) A d e p e n d e n t y o u t h , w h e n r e q u i r e d t o d o s o b y t h e ( a ) e n t e r i n t o a n e m p l o y m e n t p l a n , a n d ( b ) c o m p l y w i t h t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e e m p l o y m e n t ( 3 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y s p e c i fy t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n a n e m p r e q u i r i n g t h e a p p l i c a n t , r e c i p i e n t o r d e p e n d e n t y o p r o g r a m t h a t , i n t h e m i n i s t e r ' s o p i n i o n , w i l l a s s i s t ( a ) f i n d e m p l o y m e n t , o r ( b ) b e c o m e m o r e e m p l o y a b l e . ( 4 ) I f a n e m p l o y m e n t p l a n i n c l u d e s a c o n d i t i o n r e q u i r p a rt i c i p a t e i n a s p e c i f i c e m p l o y m e n t r e l a t e d p r o g r a ( a ) f a i l s t o 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 t o p a r t i ( b ) c e a s e s , e x c e p t f o r m e d i c a l r e a s o n s , t o p a r t i c i p a ( 5 ) I f a d e p e n d e n t y o u t h f a i l s t o c o m p l y w i t h s u b s e c t i a s s i s t a n c e o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e p r o v i d e d t o o r fo p r e s c r i b e d p e r i o d . ( 6 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y a m e n d , s u s p e n d o r c a n c e l a n e m ( 7 ) A d e c i s i o n u n d e r t h i s s e c t i o n ( a ) r e q u i r i n g a p e r s o n t o e n t e r i n t o a n e m p l o y m e n t ( b ) a m e n d i n g , s u s p e n d i n g o r c a n c e l l i n g a n e m p l o y m ( c ) s p e c i f y i n g t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f a n e m p l o y m e n t p l a i s f i n a l a n d c o n c l u s i v e a n d i s n o t o p e n t o r e v i e w b y ( 3 ) [ r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d a p p e a l r i g h t s ) . P a n e l ' s d e c i s i o n I 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 , t h e m i n i s t r y d e t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f h i s E P , d u e t o h i s f a i l u r e t o d e e m p l o y m e n t r e l a t e d p r o g r a m a n d w i t h n o m e d i t h e r e fo r e , 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 f o r i n c o m T h e m i n i s t r y w r o t e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t e n t e r e d i n c o n d i t i o n s o f h i s E P r e q u i r e d t h a t h e m e e t w i t h o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t c o m p l y w i t h m o n s t r a t e r e a s o n a b l e e ff o r t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e c a l r e a s o n fo r c e a s i n g t o p a r t i c i p a t e a n d t h a t , e 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 n a b l y s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e o r i s a e n t i n t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s c i r c u m s t a n c e s . c e o r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e , e a c h a p p l i c a n t o r r e c i p i e n t i n i s t e r , m u s t p l a n . m i n i s t e r , m u s t p l a n . l o y m e n t p l a n i n c l u d i n g , w i t h o u t l i m i t a t i o n , a c o n d i t i o n u t h t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n a s p e c i f i c e m p l o y m e n t r e l a t e d t h e a p p l i c a n t , r e c i p i e n t o r d e p e n d e n t y o u t h t o i n g 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 e n t y o u t h t o m , t h a t c o n d i t i o n i s n o t m e t i f t h e p e r s o n c i p a t e i n t h e p r o g r a m , o r t e i n t h e p r o g r a m . o n ( 2 ) , t h e m i n i s t e r m a y r e d u c e t h e a m o u n t o f i n c o m e r t h e f a m i l y u n i t b y t h e p r e s c r i b e d a m o u n t f o r t h e p l o y m e n t p l a n . p l a n , e n t p l a n , o r n a c o u r t o n a n y g r o u n d o r t o a p p e a l u n d e r s e c t i o n 1 7 t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t c o m p l y w i t h m o n s t r a t e r e a s o n a b l e e ff o r t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e c a 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 a n d t h a t , e 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 EAA . t o a n E P d a t e d M a r c h 2 1 , 2 0 1 8 , a n d t h e t h e E P c o n t r a c t o r o n a r e g u l a r b a s i s , t a k e p a r t i n
the contractor program activities as agreed to with the contractor, complete all tasks given to him, and contact the contractor if he is unable to attend a session. The ministry wrote that on July 4, 2018 the EP contractor advised the ministry that the appellant was terminated from his employment as he missed work and he did not contact his employer. The appellant wrote in this Request for Reconsideration that he advised the ministry that he quit his job as he could not get to the community for the late-night shift as the last bus leaves much earlier in the evening, it was too dangerous to ride his bicycle home from work at that time of the night, and he considered other ways of getting to and from work but none was possible. The ministry reasonably considered that the ROE provided by the appellant on August 30, 2018 confirmed that the appellant had been dismissed by the employer from his employment. The ministry wrote that on October 5, 2018 the appellant advised that he had been continuing to work with the addiction treatment center. In his Notice of Appeal, the appellant wrote that he was working on his recovery from addictions and relapse prevention. The ministry wrote that a review of the appellant's file indicated that he resided in a treatment center from November 2017 until January 2018. The ministry wrote that the appellant reported to the ministry that he left a message with the EP contractor; however, as the appellant did not attend the hearing, there was no further information available about the date that the appellant left the message for the EP contractor, or the content of the message. There was also no further information provided about the requirements of the appellant's work to overcome his addiction in order for the ministry to determine whether these activities might interfere with his ability to continue with his EP. The ministry reasonably considered that while the appellant may have an addiction, he did not provide a medical report to the ministry to confirm that he was medically unable to participate in his EP. The ministry considered that when the appellant was asked for a reason that he did not connect with either the EP contractor or with the representative from the treatment center, he stated on October 5, 2018 that he thought that he was not reconnecting because he was looking for work. At the hearing, the ministry stated that the ministry requires more than a statement by the appellant that he is looking for work, in the form of a detailed log of the ongoing efforts that he has made. The ministry stated that If the appellant had provided the ministry with a log of the efforts he had made for an independent work search, then his EP would likely have been updated and he could then continue to engage in an independent Work Search, especially since he has shown that he has achieved a level of employability with his obtaining a job in June 2018. 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. Therefore, the ministry reasonably considered that the appellant signed an EP on March 21, 2018 and that the conditions were for the appellant to take part in the contractor program activities as agreed with by the contractor, complete all tasks given to him, and to contact the
c o n t r a c t o r i f h e i s u n a b l e t o a tt e n d a s e s 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 r e a s o n a b l y c o c o n t r a c t o r o v e r t h e p e r i o d s i n c e h e s i g n e d t h e E h i s f i l e w a s c l o s e d a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f J u l y 2 0 1 8 h i s a c t i v i t i e s f o r e i t h e r h i s a d d i c t i o n r e c o v e r y o r b e g i n n i n g o f J u l y 2 0 1 8 u n t i l h i s c o n t a c t w i t h t h e ' 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 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 fa i l e d p r o g r a m w h e n h e r e f u s e d t o t a k e p a rt i n t h e p r o t h e c o n t r a c t o r , a s d i r e c t e d . T h e l e g i s l a t i o n r e q u i r e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d e m o 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 l r e a s o n f o r c e a 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 c l u d e d , p u 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 ry d e c i s i o n , w h e r i n c o m e 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 a p p l i c a b l e 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 a p p e l l a n t ' s a p p e a l , t h e r e fo r e , i s n o t s u c c e s s f u l .n s i d e r e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t h e P a n d t h e l o n g g a p o f c o n t a c t f r o m t h e t i m e t h a t . T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t p r o v i d e c o n f i r m a t i o n o f h i s w o r k s e a r c h o v e r t h e p e r i o d f r o m t h e m i n i s t r y a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f O c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 . T o v o 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 t o m a k e r e a s o n a b l e e ff o r t s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e g r a m a c t i v i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g r e g u l a r c o n t a c t w i t h n s t r a t e r e a s o n a b l e e ff o rt s t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s i n g t o p a rt i c i p a t e i n t h e p r o g r a m , a n d t h e p a n e l r s u a n t t o S e c t i o n 9 o f t h e EAA , t h a t t h e e b y t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s fo u n d t o b e i n e l i g i b l e f o r E AA , w a s a 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 e a p p e l l a n t a n d c o n f i r m s t h e d e c i s i o n . T h e
PART G -ORDER THE PANEL DECISION IS: (Check one) �UNANIMOUS □BY MAJORITY THE PANEL J8ICONFIRMS THE MINISTRY DECISION □RESCINDS THE MINISTRY DECISION If the ministry decision is rescinded, is the panel decision referred back to the Minister for a decision as to amount? □Yes □No LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY FOR THE DECISION: Employment and Assistance Act Section 24(1)(a) D or Section 24(1)(b) lgj and Section 24(2)(a) � or Section 24(2)(b) D PART H -SIGNATURES PR!NTNAME S. Walters SIGNATURE OF CHAIR DATE(YEARIMONTH/DAY} 2018-11-27 P.RINTNAME Tina Ahner! SIGNATURE OF M/ !ER DATE(YEARfMONTHIOAY} ' '--"- II\ � 2018-11-27 PR!NTNAME Kulwant Bal SIGNATURE OF MEMBER ......_ :k----.<l €'v DATE(YEAR/MONTHIDAY) '--1: 2018-11-27 C EAAT003 (17/08117) Signature Page
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.