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 M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l D e v e r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n d a t e d F e b r u a r y 5 , 2 0 1 9 w h i c h d p u r c h a s e a b e d . T h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e fo r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s 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 i l i t i e s 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 i l i t i e s l o p m e n t a n d P o v e rt y R e d u c t i o n ( t h e m i n i s t r y ) e n i 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 a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t t o n o t m e e t a l l o f t h e c r i t e r i a l i s t e d u n d e r s e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) o f t h e R e g u l a t i o n f o r p r o v i s i o n o f a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . A c t ( E A P W D A ) s e c t i o n 5 R e g u l a t i o n ( E A P W D R ) s e c t i o n 5 7
I PART E -SUMMARY OF FACTS Information before the minister at reconsideration included: A copy of a letter from a physician, To Whom ii May Concern, dated December 10, 2018, staling that the appellant has chronic lumbar spine arthritis and requires a new mattress that provides sufficient support. A copy of an "Assessment Tool" completed by the appellant, dated January 9, 2019, showing the areas where the appellant feels pain, severity, functional limitations, pain management and medical history. A copy of a clinic appointment reminder dated December 10, 2018. A photograph of the appellant's bed. A copy of a letter from a physician, To Whom it May Concern, dated January 14, 2019, stating that the appellant requires a new mattress as the one he has is over 10 years old and is no longer functional, and that the appellant has long-standing arthritis affecting his lumbar spine and knees, that his current bed leaves him with significant pain each morning that limits his mobility and that he will require surgery to replace both knees. The appellant's Request for Reconsideration, signed January 28, 2019. At the hearing the appellant staled that he feels there has been a miscommunication with the ministry, and that two pieces of information are missing from the Appeal Record: a letter from his doctor and a list of places where he tried to find a bed. The appellant stated that he purchased a bed from a local second-hand store in October, 2018, but did not have money for bedding. He approached the ministry and received a grant of $75.00. Three days later, he discovered bedbugs. He approached the retailer who gave him a store credit voucher and advised him to throw the bed away. He did not want to purchase another bed from the retailer, but spent the voucher on other things. He stated that he then approached the ministry for a new bed. The appellant staled that he approached community agencies, but was unable to obtain a bed. The appellant stated that he came to Canada as a refugee, worked for some time, but he developed PTSD as a result of his former life experiences. He has received counselling and is now improved. He stated that he volunteers in his community. The appellant submitted two documents to the panel: 1. A letter from his physician dated March 11, 2019 stating that the appellant has been dealing with arthritis which is deteriorating rapidly, that he is awaiting knee surgery and that in recent months he has been dealing with bedbugs affecting his mattress. As a result, he has been sleeping on a rocking chair, which is causing hip pain which the physician suspects is worsening his arthritis. 2. A reference letter, undated, from a community agency employee staling that the appellant is a peer worker at the agency. The panel admitted the physician's letter under section 22(4) of the Employment and Assistance Act as it was w ritten by the same physician who wrote two previous letters and deals with essentially the same information concerning the appellant's arthritis and is in support of the information before the minister. The panel notes, however, that the issue of bedbugs was not part of the information before the minister when the decision under appeal was made. The panel did not admit the reference letter under section 22(4) as it is not in support of the information and records that were before the minister, and does not deal with the issues under appeal. In response to questions from the ministry, the appellant stated that he did not try fumigation as he threw the bed out. He stated that he still has his original bed and his landlord has confirmed that there are no bedbugs. In response to questions from the panel, the appellant stated that his original bed was 10 years old. The second bed was infested, and the bedbug issue is now resolved. He stated that he asked the ministry for a bed and mattress and that he approached community agencies with no success. The ministry responded by referring to the Reconsideration Decision, which states that a new mattress is required, but ii is not unexpected, and the appellant's request does not meet all of the requirements for approval. In response to questions from the appellant, the ministry stated that the appellant's list of approaches to community resources would be taken into consideration if the ministry were advised of them. In response to questions from the panel, the ministry stated that the need for a mattress was not unexpected and that the issue of bedbugs was new information.
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 s s o f t h e m i n c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t t o p u r c h a s e a b e d . T h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d u n d e r s e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) 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 f c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t . 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 b j 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 i d e d i t h a t i s e l i g i b l e fo 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 n t t o o 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 i l y u n e x p e n s e o r o b t a i n a n i t e m u n e x p e c t e d l y n e e b e c a u s e t h e r 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 ( 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 e e t ( 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 a l h ( 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 h il d ( 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 fo r t h e c a l 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 p u r p o ( 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 c l o t h ( a ) i f fo 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 ( 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 f o r a f a m i l y u n i t t h a t m a t c h e s t h e ( 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 e ( i ) $ 1 0 0 f o r e a c h p e r s o n i n t h e f a d a l 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 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 fo 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 , s . 2 . ] ( ? ) 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 a y b e ( 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 a p p e l l a n t ' s p o s i t i o n i s t h a t h i s p a i n i s g e t t i n g w o r s e a h e d i d a tt e m p t t o a c c e s s c o m m u n i t y r e s o u r c e s t o f i n d a n T h e m i n i s t rv ' s o o s i t i o n i s t h a t t h e a n n e l l a n t m e e t s o n e l e i s t r y d e c i s i o n w h i c h d e n i e d t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s r e q u e s t fo r a t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t m e e t a l l o f t h e c r i t e r i a l i s t e d 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 f o r p r o v i s i o n o f a 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 f a m i l y u n i t 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 a s s i s t a n c e o r 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 u n e x p e c t e d d e d a n d i s u n a b l e t o m 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 t h e f a m i l y u n i t , a n d 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 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 , 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 . 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 f o r t h e s e o f o b t a i n i n g C , o r e s . i n g i s s u bj 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 s m a l l e r o f 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 a m i l y u n i t ; 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 t h e 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 . 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 f o l l o w i n g : s a r e s u l t o f h a v i n g a b e d t h a t i s i n p o o r c o n d i t i o n a n d t h a t e w o n e . a i s l a t i v e c r i t e r i o n o u t o f t h r e e , a n d t h a t e v e n i f t h e
a p p e l l a n t ' s a t t e m p t s t o o b t a i n a b e d t h r o u g h c o m m u n i t y i s n o t u n e x p e c t e d , a n d h e d o e s n o t m e e t t h e c r i t e r i a s t a t T h e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a r g u m e n t t h a t h i s f i r o r i g i n a l r e q u e s t a n d t h e r e f o r e w a s n o t p a r t o f t h e r e c o n s t h i s i s s u e w a s r e s o l v e d . T h e p a n e l a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a t t h w r o t e t h a t i t i s g e t t i n g w o r s e , p e r h a p s d u e t o t h e l a c k o f a S e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) , E A P W D R p r o v i d e s t h r e e c r i t e r i a t h a t m u s n e e d f o r t h e i t e m i s u n e x p e c t e d o r t h e r e i s a n u n e x p e c t e f a i l u r e t o o b t a i n t h e i t e m o r m e e t t h e e x p e n s e w i l l r e s u l t i t h e f a m i l y u n i t o r r e m o v a l o f a c h i l d u n d e r t h e C h i l d , F a m a p p e l l a n t m e t t h e t h i r d c r i t e r i o n , t h a t f a i l u r e t o r e p l a c e t h e h e a l t h , b u t t h a t h e d i d n o t m e e t t h e o t h e r t w o c r i t e r i a . T h s e c o n d c r i t e r i o n , t h a t n o a l t e r n a t e r e s o u r c e s a r e a v a i l a b l b e d f r o m v a r i o u s a g e n c i e s . H o w e v e r , t h e p a n e l f i n d s t h a r e p l a c e a 1 0 y e a r o l d b e d i s n o t u n e x p e c t e d , a s r e q u i r e d p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n t o s h o w t h a t t h e r e w a s a n u n e x p e c t e T h e p a n e l t h e r e f o r e c o n f i r m s t h e m i n i s t r y d e c i s i o n . T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s a p p e a l i s n o t s u c c e s s f u l .I r e s o u r c e s a r e t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e n e e d fo r a b e d e d i n s e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) , E A P W D R . s t r e p l a c e m e n t b e d h a d b e d b u g s w a s n o t s t a t e d i n h i s i d e r a t i o n d e c i s i o n u n d e r r e v i e w . T h e a p p e l l a n t s t a t e d t h a t e a p p e l l a n t h a s a c h r o n i c c o n d i t i o n a n d t h a t h i s p h y s i c i a n p r o p e r b e d . t b e m e t i n o r d e r f o r a c r i s i s s u p p l e m e n t t o b e p r o v i d e d : t h e d e x p e n s e ; t h e r e a r e n o a l t e r n a t e r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e a n d n 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 a l h e a l t h o f a n y p e r s o n i n il y a n d C o m m u n i t y S e rv i c e A c t . T h e m i n i s t r y f o u n d t h a t t h e m a t t r e s s w i l l 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 e p a n e l n o t e s t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t m a y h a v e s a t i s f i e d t h e e , a s h e p r o v i d e d o r a l e v i d e n c e o f h i s a tt e m p t s t o o b t a i n a t t h e m i n i s t r y 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 n e e d t o u n d e r s e c t i o n 5 7 ( 1 ) ( a ) , E A P W D R . T h e a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t d n e e d .
I THE PANEL DECISION IS: (Check one) [8JUNANIMOUS OBY MAJORITY THE PANEL [8JCONFIRMS 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) 18:1 or Section 24(1 )(b) 0 and Section 24(2)(a) 18:1 or Section 24(2)(b) 0 PART H-SIGNATURES PRINTNAME Reece Wrightman SJGNATUREOFCHAIR DATE(YEAR/MONTH/DAY) -2019 April 17 \ • v J PRINTNAME Nancy Eidsvik SIGNATUREOFMEMBER OATE(YEAR/MONTHIDA Y) 2019April 17 /-<61--PRJNTNAME Kim Read SIGNATUREOFMEMBER DATE(YEAR/MONTHIDAY) 2019April 17 ;z -.,
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.