PART C -DECISION UNDER APPEAL The decision under appeal is the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction's ("Ministry") reconsideration decision dated December 18, 2018 which found the appellant ineligible for a crisis grant for clothing; a winter jacket and shoes. The ministry found that the Appellant did not have the resources available to obtain the requested items, but that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the need was unexpected and that there was no indication or evidence that failure to obtain the items would result in imminent danger to the appellant's health, as required under section 57 of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation. PART D -RELEVANT LEGISLATION Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act (EAPWDA) section 5 Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation (EAPWDR) section 57
P A R T E S U M M A R Y O F F A C T S 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 e r a t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n A l e t t e r d a t e d D e c e m b e r 1 0 , 2 0 1 8 f r o m t h e a n d s h o e s a r e r e q u i r e d d u e t o t h e c o l d w e a h i s s h o e s b e g a n t o l e a k p r e m a t u r e l y a n d t h a f r o m t h e c o m m u n i t y a g e n c i e s h e v i s i t e d . T h e A p p e l l a n t ' s R e q u e s t f o r R e c o n s i d e r a t i o A t t h e h e a r i n g , t h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h a t h e a p p r o a c b e c a u s e h i s w e r e " n o t g o o d " a n d w a s t o l d t o r e t u r n m i n i s t r y o ff i c e , h e w a s e x p e c t i n g t h e y w e r e g o i n g t o a R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n p a c k a g e a n d w a s t o l d t o f i l l i t o u I n r e s p o n s e t o q u e s t i o n s f r o m t h e p a n e l , t h e a p p e l l a j a c k e t w h i c h h e h a d f o r a b o u t t h r e e y e a r s , a n d t h e z s u i t a b l e p a i r o f s h o e s . T h e m i n i s t r y r e f e r r e d t o t h e R e c o n s i d e r a t i o n D e c i s i t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e n e e d f o r a j a c k e t w a s u n e x p e c t a p p e l l a n t ' s h e a l t h . I n r e s p o n s e t o q u e s t i o n s f r o m t h e p a n e l , t h e m i n i s t r a n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o h e a l t h .c l u d e d : a p p e l l a n t ' s a d v o c a t e s t a t i n g t h a t t h e r e q u e s t e d j a c k e t t h e r , t h a t t h e z i p p e r o n h i s c u r r e n t j a c k e t b r o k e a n d t h e h a s n o t b e e n a b l e t o o b t a i n a n y t h i n g i n h i s s i z e n , s i g n e d D e c e m b e r 1 0 , 2 0 1 8 . h e d t h e m i n i s t r y t o a s k f o r a j a c k e t a n d s h o e s i n a f e w d a y s . H e s t a t e d t h a t w h e n h e r e t u r n e d t o t h e g i v e h i m a w a r m j a c k e t b u t i n s t e a d , h e w a s h a n d e d t . n t s t a t e d t h a t t h e j a c k e t h e h a d w a s a l i g h t r a i n i p p e r h a d b r o k e n . H e s t a t e d t h a t h e d i d n o t h a v e a o n , w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t t h e r e w a s n o t e n o u g h e v i d e n c e e d , a n d n o i n d i c a t i o n o f i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e y s t a t e d t h a t t h e l a c k o f a w i n t e r j a c k e t w o u l d i n d i c a t e
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 t h e r e a s o n a b l e n e i n e l i g i b l e f o r a c r i s i s g r a n t f o r a b l a n k e t a n d A p p e l l a n t d i d n o t h a v e t h e r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b i n s u ff i c i e n t e v i d e n c e t o e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e n e o r e v i d e n c e t h a t f a i l u r e t o o b t a i n t h e i t e m s w h e a l t h , a s r e q u i r e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 5 7 o f t h e E D i s a b i l i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n . L e g i s l a t i o n E A P W D A D i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e a n d s u p p l e m e n t s 5 S u bj 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 p r o v 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 i t . E A P W D R C r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t 5 7 ( 1 ) T h e m i n i s t e r m a y p r o v i d e a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e 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 i f ( a ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t o r a p e r s o n i n t h e f a m u n e x p e c t e d e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n a n i t e m u e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m b e c a u s e t h e r ( b ) t h e m i n i s t e r c o n s i d e r s t h a t f a i l u r e t o m ( i ) i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c ( i i ) r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d u n d e r t h e C ( 2 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y b e p r o v i d e d o n l y f o r t h e f o r t h e s u p p l e m e n t i s m a d e . ( 3 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m a y n o t b e p r o v i d e d f o r t h e ( a ) a s u p p l e m e n t d e s c r i b e d i n S c h e d u l e ( b ) a n y o t h e r h e a l t h c a r e g o o d s o r s e r v i c ( 4 ) A c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t p r o v i d e d f o r f o o d , s h e l t e r o r ( a ) i f f o r f o o d , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h a t p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t ; ( b ) i f f o r s h e l t e r , t h e m a x i m u m a m o u n t t h s m a l l e r o f ( i ) t h e f a m i l y u n i t ' s a c t u a l s h e l t e r / i i ) t h e m a x i m u m s e t o u t i n s e c t i o s s o f t h e m i n i s t r y d e c i s i o n w h i c h f o u n d t h e a p p e l l a n t a w i n t e r j a c k e t a n d s h o e s . T h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t t h e l e t o o b t a i n t h e r e q u e s t e d i t e m s , b u t t h a t t h e r e w a s e d w a s u n e x p e c t e d a n d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o i n d i c a t i o n o u l d r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n t d a n g e r t o t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s 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 i d e d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e o r a s u p p l e m e n t t o o r f o r a n t t o o r f o r 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 d i s a b i l i t y i l y u n i t r e q u i r e s t h e s u p p l e m e n t t o m e e t a n n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d a n d i s u n a b l e t o m e e t t h e e a r e n o r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e t o t h e f a m i l y u n i t , a n d e e t t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n a l h e a l t h o f a n y p e r s o n i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t , o r h il d , F a m il y a n d C o m m u n i t y S e rv i c e A c t . c a l e n d a r m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o r r e q u e s t p u r p o s e o f o b t a i n i n g C , o r e s . c l o t h i n g i s s u b j e c t t o t h e f o l l o w i n g l i m i t a t i o n s : m a y b e p r o v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s $ 4 0 f o r e a c h a t m a y b e p r o v i d e d i n a c a l e n d a r m o n t h i s t h e c o s t , a n d n 4 o f S c h e d u l e A o r T a b l e 2 o f S c h e d u l e D , a s
a p p l i c a b l e , f o r a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t m ( c ) i f f o r c l o t h i n g , t h e a m o u n t t h a t m a y b ( i ) $ 1 0 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n i n t h e f a t h e d a t e o f a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e c r i s ( i i ) $ 4 0 0 f o r t h e f a m i l y u n i t i n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n f o r t h e c r i s i s s u p p l e m ( 5 ) a n d ( 6 ) R e p e a l e d . [ B . C . R e g . 2 4 8 / 2 0 1 8 , A p p . 2 , ( 7 ) D e s p i t e s u b s e c t i o n ( 4 ) ( b ) , a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t m f o l l o w i n g : ( a ) f u e l f o r h e a t i n g ; ( b ) f u e l f o r c o o k i n g m e a l s ; ( c ) w a t e r ; ( d ) h y d r o . T h e p a n e l a d m i t s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s o r a l e v i d e n c e u n d A c t a s t e s t i m o n y i n s u p p o r t o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d r d e c i s i o n b e i n g a p p e a l e d w a s m a d e . T h e a p p e l l a n t w a s t h e o n e h e w a s w e a r i n g , a r a i n j a c k e t , a n d t h a s u b m i t t e d a t r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n . O f t h e c r i t e r i a f o r e l i g i b i l i t y f o r a c r i s i s g r a n t , a s r e q u t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t m e e t t w o ; t h a t t h e e x p e n s e o r t h e e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n t h e i t e m w i l l r e s u l t i n i m m i n e n f a m i l y u n i t . T h e p a n e l a c c e p t s t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s e v i d e n c e t h a t a r w e r e n o t s u i t a b l e f o r t h e w i n t e r w e a t h e r , a n d t h a t f a d a n g e r t o p h y s i c a l h e a l t h d u e t o t h e c o l d w e a t h e r a r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e t h a t h i s c r i t e r i o n w a s n o t m e t W i t h r e s p e c t t o w h e t h e r t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u i r e d t h e i t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s t a t e m e n t t h a t h i s j a c k e t z i p p e r b r o k t e m p e r a t u r e s , t h e p a n e l a c c e p t s t h a t b r e a k i n g a z i p u n e x p e c t e d n e e d . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h e m i n i s t r y d i d n m e 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 d e c i s i o n t o d e n y t h r e a s o n a b l e a p p l i c a t i o n o f s e c t i o n 5 7 , E A P W D R . T h T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a p p e a l i s s u c c e s s f u l .a t c h e s t h e f a m i l y u n i t ; e p r o v i d e d m u s t n o t e x c e e d t h e s m a l l e r o f m i l y u n i t i n t h e 1 2 c a l e n d a r m o n t h p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g i s s u p p l e m e n t , a n d 1 2 c a l e n d a r m o n t h p e r i o d p r e c e d i n g t h e d a t e o f e n t . s . 2 . ] a y b e p r o v i d e d t o o r f o r a f a m i l y u n i t f o r t h e e r 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 a n d A s s i s t a n c e e c o r d s t h a t w e r e b e f o r e t h e m i n i s t e r w h e n t h e s t a t e d t h a t h e a d v i s e d t h e m i n i s t ry t h a t h i s o n l y j a c k e t t h i s s h o e s w e r e n o t g o o d . T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n w a s a l s o i r e d u n d e r s . 5 7 ( 1 ) , E A P W D R , t h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t i t e m b e u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e d e d a n d t h a t f a i l u r e t o m e e t t d a n g e r t o t h e p h y s i c a l h e a l t h o f a n y p e r s o n i n t h e a i n j a c k e t w a s t h e o n l y o n e h e h a d a n d t h a t h i s s h o e s i l u r e t o h a v e t h e s e i t e m s w o u l d r e s u l t i n a n i m m i n e n t t t h a t t i m e . T h e p a n e l f i n d s t h e m i n i s t r y d i d n o t . t e m s t o m e e t a n u n e x p e c t e d n e e d , t h e p a n e l a c c e p t s e . C o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e j a c k e t w a s f o r r a i n , n o t c o l d p e r o n a l i g h t j a c k e t i n w i n t e r w o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d a n o t r e a s o n a b l y d e t e r m i n e t h a t t h i s c r i t e r i o n w a s n o t e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e q u e s t f o r a c r i s i s g r a n t w a s n o t a e p a n e l r e s c i n d s t h e d e c i s i o n .
PART G -ORDER THE PANEL DECISION IS: (Check one) �UNANIMOUS □BY MAJORITY THE PANEL □CONFIRMS 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) � or Section 24(1)(b) D and Section 24(2)(a) D or Section 24(2)(b) � PART H -SIGNATURES PRINT NAME Reece Wrightman SIGNATURE OF CHAIR DATE (YEAR/MONTH/DAY) 2019 JAN 23 PRJNTNAME Nancy Eidsvik S SIGNATURE OF MEMBER DATE (YEAR/MONTH/DAY) 2019 JAN 23 PRJNTNAME Shirley Heafey SJGNAT URE OF MEMBER DATE(YEAR/MONTH/DAY} 2019 JAN 23
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.