Canada Pension Plan (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8)

84 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 229]

85 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 229]

86 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 229]

86.1 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 229]

DIVISION GGeneral

Marginal note:Census information

87 Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, for the purpose of ascertaining the age of any applicant or beneficiary, or of an applicant’s or a beneficiary’s spouse or common-law partner or former spouse or former common-law partner, the Minister is entitled to obtain from Statistics Canada, on request, any information respecting that person’s age that is contained in the returns of any census taken more than thirty years before the date of the request.

Marginal note:Presumption as to death

• 88 (1) Where a contributor or beneficiary, or a contributor’s or beneficiary’s spouse or common-law partner or former spouse or former common-law partner, has, either before or after the coming into force of this section, disappeared under circumstances that, in the opinion of the Minister, raise beyond a reasonable doubt a presumption that the person is dead, the Minister may determine the date for the purposes of this Act on which that person’s death is presumed to have occurred, and thereupon that person shall be deemed for all purposes of this Act to have died on that date.

• Marginal note:Change of date

  (2) If, after having determined the date of a person’s death pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister is satisfied from new information or evidence that the date of death is different from that determined, the Minister may determine a different date of death, in which case the person shall be deemed for all purposes of this Act to have died on that different date and the Minister shall forthwith cause to be paid any benefit that would have been payable if the determination of death had not been made.

• Marginal note:Where person appears

  (3) If, after having determined the date of a person’s death pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister is satisfied from new information or evidence that the person is alive, the Minister shall forthwith cause to be paid any benefit that would have been payable in respect of the person had that determination not been made.

• Marginal note:Benefits cease

  (4) Where any benefit has been paid to any person as a result of the determination of another person’s death pursuant to this section and the Minister is satisfied from new information or evidence that that other person is alive, the benefit shall forthwith cease to be payable and any such benefit paid prior to the Minister’s being satisfied that the person is alive shall be deemed to have been validly paid.

• Marginal note:Death certificates issued by other authorities

  (5) For the purposes of this section, the Minister is not bound by the issuance or revocation of a death certificate by any other authority.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 89 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing or defining anything that, by this Part, is to be prescribed or defined by regulations;

  • (b) prescribing the time, manner and form of making applications for benefits, the information and evidence to be furnished in connection therewith and the procedures to be followed in dealing with and approving applications;

  • (b.1) prescribing the time and manner for making requests for reinstatement of a disability pension or post-retirement disability benefit under section 70.1, and the information and evidence to be furnished in connection with requests;

  • (b.2) prescribing the information and evidence to be furnished in connection with the reinstatement of disabled contributor’s child benefits under section 70.1;

  • (c) setting out the circumstances in which the Minister may allow a longer period to make a request under subsection 81(1) or (1.1);

  • (d) providing for the making of an application or appeal by and the payment of a benefit to any person or agency on behalf of any other person or beneficiary where it is established in such manner and by such evidence as may be prescribed that the other person or beneficiary is by reason of infirmity, illness, insanity or other causes incapable of managing his own affairs, and prescribing the manner in which any benefit authorized to be paid to any such person or agency on behalf of a beneficiary shall be administered and expended for the benefit of the beneficiary and accounted for;

  • (e) respecting the determination of disability subject to this Part and the conditions on which any amount as or on account of a benefit in respect of the disability of a person shall be paid or shall continue to be paid, including the initial and subsequent periodic or other assessments of that disability and the reasonable rehabilitation measures to be undergone by that person, and providing for the payment out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the cost of any such assessments of disability and rehabilitation measures and for the charging of the amount of the payment to the Canada Pension Plan Account or the Additional Canada Pension Plan Account, as the case may be, as a cost of administration of this Act;

  • (f) providing that the failure of a person to undergo any assessment of disability or reasonable rehabilitation measure as required by any regulation made under paragraph (e), without good cause as defined by regulation, shall be a ground on which that person may be determined to have ceased to be disabled;

  • (g) providing, in the case of any benefit that becomes payable to a person to whom no pension is then payable under the Old Age Security Act, the basic monthly amount of which benefit is less than such amount, not exceeding ten dollars, as may be prescribed, for the commutation of such benefit in such circumstances and in accordance with such methods and bases as may be prescribed and for the payment to that person in the place of that benefit of an amount equal to the commuted value thereof, or for the payment of that benefit at prescribed intervals less frequent than monthly;

  • (h) respecting the payment of any amount on account of a benefit under this Act that remains unpaid at any time after the death of the beneficiary;

  • (i) respecting the terms and conditions governing the payment of benefits in accordance with any agreement under subsection 80(1) that may be entered into by the Minister on behalf of the Government of Canada;

  • (j) providing, in any case or class of cases not covered by the provisions of an agreement under subsection 80(1), for the issue of cheques by the Government of Canada in the amount of any benefit payable under this Act to or in respect of a contributor and in the amount of any like benefit payable under a provincial pension plan to or in respect of the same contributor, or for the payment by other means by the Government of Canada of such an amount, if arrangements satisfactory to the Governor in Council have been made with the government of that province for the issue of cheques, or for the payment by other means, by that government on a reciprocal basis and for the making of any financial adjustments by that government required to be made by reason of those arrangements, and providing for the making of any financial adjustments by the Government of Canada required to be made by reason of those arrangements and for the crediting or charging of the amount of the adjustments to the Canada Pension Plan Account or the Additional Canada Pension Plan Account, as the case may be;

  • (k) [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 399]

  • (l) providing for the conditions under which the payment of benefits may be withheld pending the furnishing of the Minister with information, evidence and documentation required under this Act and the regulations;

  • (l.1) and (l.2) [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 230]

  • (m) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

• Marginal note:Regulations — payment of interest

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the payment of interest on amounts owing to Her Majesty under this Part, including regulations prescribing

  • (a) the circumstances in which interest is payable;

  • (b) rates of interest or the manner of calculating rates of interest;

  • (c) terms and conditions for the imposition and payment of interest; and

  • (d) terms and conditions under which the Minister may waive, reduce or remit the interest payable.

• (3) [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 230]

Offences

Marginal note:Offence and punishment

• 90 (1) Every person who

  • (a) knowingly makes a false or misleading statement in any application or declaration or makes any application or declaration that by reason of any non-disclosure of facts is false or misleading, or obtains any benefit payment by false pretences,

  • (b) being the payee thereof, negotiates or attempts to negotiate any cheque for a benefit to which he is not entitled, or

  • (c) knowingly fails to return any cheque or the amount of any benefit payment or any excess amount as required by section 66,

  is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) Any proceedings under this Act in respect of an offence may be commenced at any time within, but not later than, five years after the Minister becomes aware of the subject-matter of the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (3) No proceeding shall be commenced under this section or the Criminal Code for an act or omission if a penalty for that act or omission has been imposed under section 90.1.

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Marginal note:Penalty for misrepresentation, etc.

• 90.1 (1) The Minister may impose on a person a penalty for each of the following acts or omissions if the Minister becomes aware of facts that in the Minister’s opinion establish that the person has

  • (a) made a statement or declaration, in an application or otherwise, that the person knew was false or misleading;

  • (b) made a statement or declaration, in an application or otherwise, that the person knew was false or misleading because of the non-disclosure of facts;

  • (c) knowingly failed to declare to the Minister all or some of the person’s earnings for a period for which the person received disability benefits;

  • (d) received or obtained by cheque or otherwise a benefit payment to which the person knew that they were not entitled, or a benefit payment that the person knew was in excess of the amount of the benefit payment to which they were entitled, and did not return the cheque or the amount of the benefit payment, or the excess amount, as the case may be, without delay; or

  • (e) participated in, assented to or acquiesced in an act or omission mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Purpose of penalty

  (1.1) The purpose of the penalty is to promote compliance with this Act and not to punish.

• Marginal note:Maximum penalty

  (2) The Minister may set the amount of the penalty for each act or omission at not more than $10,000.

• Marginal note:Limitation on imposition of penalties

  (3) A penalty shall not be imposed on a person under subsection (1) if

  • (a) a prosecution for the act or omission has been initiated against the person; or

  • (b) five years have passed since the day on which the Minister became aware of the act or omission.

• Marginal note:Rescission, etc., of penalty

  (4) The Minister may rescind the imposition of a penalty under subsection (1), or reduce the penalty,

  • (a) on the presentation of new facts;

  • (b) on being satisfied that the penalty was imposed without knowledge of, or on the basis of a mistake as to, some material fact;

  • (c) on being satisfied that the penalty cannot be collected within the reasonably foreseeable future; or

  • (d) on being satisfied that payment of the penalty would cause undue hardship to the debtor.

Administration and Enforcement

Marginal note:Interpretation

• 90.2 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

  document

  document includes moneys, securities, books, records, letters, accounts, statements (financial or otherwise), correspondence, memoranda, film, microform, videotape, photographs, machine-readable records and other documentary material, regardless of form or characteristics, and any copy or printout of any of them. (document)

  dwelling-house

  dwelling-house means the whole or a part of a building or structure that is kept or occupied as a permanent or temporary residence and includes

  • (a) a building within the yard of a dwelling-house that is connected to it by a doorway or by a covered and enclosed passageway; and

  • (b) a unit that is designed to be mobile and to be used as a permanent or temporary residence and that is being used as such a residence. (maison d’habitation)

  judge

  judge means a judge of a superior court having jurisdiction in the province where the matter arises or a judge of the Federal Court. (juge)

• Marginal note:Inspections

  (2) The Minister may, at any reasonable time, for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, examine any document that relates or may relate to the entitlement of a person to a benefit or the amount of a benefit and, for that purpose, the Minister may

  • (a) subject to subsection (3), enter any premises or place where the Minister believes that a document relating to the entitlement of a person to a benefit or the amount of a benefit is or should be kept; and

  • (b) require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to give the Minister all reasonable assistance and to answer all proper questions relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act and, for that purpose, require the owner, occupant or person in charge of the premises or place to attend at those premises or that place with the Minister.

• Marginal note:Warrant required to enter dwelling-house

  (3) Where the premises or place referred to in subsection (2) is a dwelling-house, the Minister may not enter that dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Warrant

  (4) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may issue a warrant authorizing the Minister to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions that may be specified in the warrant, if the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a premises or place referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for a purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act; and

  • (c) entry into the dwelling-house has been refused or that there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused.

• Marginal note:Other access to document

  (5) Where the judge is not satisfied that entry into that dwelling-house is necessary for a purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act but is satisfied that access to a document that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house has been or may be expected to be refused, the judge may

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide the Minister with reasonable access to the document; and

  • (b) make any other order that is appropriate in the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Requirement to provide documents or information

  (6) Despite any other provision of this Act, the Minister may, subject to subsection (7), for any purpose relating to the administration or enforcement of this Act, by notice served personally or by confirmed delivery service, require that any person provide, within the reasonable time that is stipulated in the notice, any information or additional information or any document.

• Marginal note:Unnamed persons

  (7) The Minister shall not impose on a person, in this section referred to as a “third party”, a requirement under subsection (6) to provide information or a document relating to one or more unnamed persons unless the Minister first obtains the authorization of a judge under subsection (8).

• Marginal note:Judicial authorization

  (8) On ex parte application by the Minister, a judge may, subject to the conditions that the judge considers appropriate, authorize the Minister to impose on a third party a requirement under subsection (6) relating to one or more unnamed persons, in this section referred to as the “group”, where the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) the person or group is ascertainable; and

  • (b) the requirement is made to verify compliance by the person or persons in the group with a duty or obligation under this Act.

• Marginal note:Service of authorization

  (9) Where an authorization is granted under subsection (8), the authorization shall be served together with the notice referred to in subsection (6).

• Marginal note:Review of authorization

  (10) Where an authorization is granted under subsection (8), a third party on whom a notice is served under subsection (6) may, not later than 15 days after the service of the notice, apply to the judge who granted the authorization or, if that judge is unable to act, to another judge of the same court for a review of the authorization.

• Marginal note:Powers on review

  (11) On hearing an application under subsection (10), a judge may cancel the authorization previously granted if the judge is not then satisfied that the conditions in paragraphs (8)(a) to (d) have been met, and the judge may confirm or vary the authorization if the judge is satisfied that those conditions have been met.

• Marginal note:Copies as evidence

  (12) Where a document is inspected, examined or provided in accordance with this section, the person by whom it is inspected or examined or to whom it is provided may make, or cause to be made, one or more certified copies of it and any such copy is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it were proven in the ordinary way.

• Marginal note:Compliance

  (13) No person shall interfere with any person doing anything that the person is authorized under this section to do or prevent or attempt to prevent any person from doing any such thing.