Defence Services Pension Continuation Act (R.S.C. 1970, c. D-3)

Marginal note:Person considered to be the survivor

• 32 (1) For the purposes of this Act, when a person establishes that he or she was cohabiting in a relationship of a conjugal nature with an officer or former officer for at least one year immediately before the death of the officer or former officer, the person is considered to be the survivor of the officer or former officer.

• Marginal note:Person considered to be married

  (2) For the purposes of this Act, when an officer or former officer dies and, at the time of death, the officer or former officer was married to a person with whom he or she had been cohabiting in a relationship of a conjugal nature for a period immediately before the marriage, that person is considered to have become married to the officer or former officer on the day established as being the day on which the relationship began.

• Marginal note:Apportionment of pension when two survivors

  (3) When a pension is payable to a survivor and there are two survivors of the officer or former officer, the total amount of the annual allowance shall, subject to subsection (4), be apportioned so that

  • (a) the survivor referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition “survivor” in subsection 2(1) is entitled to receive the proportion of the pension that the total of the number of years that he or she cohabited with the officer or former officer while married to the officer or former officer and the number of years that he or she cohabited with the officer or former officer in a relationship of a conjugal nature bears to the total number of years that the officer or former officer so cohabited with the survivors; and

  • (b) the survivor referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition is entitled to receive the proportion of the pension that the number of years that he or she cohabited with the officer or former officer in a relationship of a conjugal nature bears to the total number of years that the officer or former officer cohabited with the survivors, either while married or while in a relationship of a conjugal nature.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4) If one of the two survivors is found criminally responsible for the death of the officer or former officer or if, when the officer or former officer dies, it is established to the satisfaction of the Minister that one of the survivors cannot be found, the other survivor shall receive the first survivor’s portion, in addition to his or her own portion.

• Marginal note:Death of one of the survivors after apportionment

  (5) When one of the two survivors dies after apportionment, the portion of the pension that would have been payable to the survivor who died shall be paid to the remaining survivor in addition to his or her own portion.

Marginal note:Pension to officer or militiaman of His Majesty’s Army Reserve who enlisted in Permanent Force

• 33 (1) An officer or militiaman who, while belonging to His Majesty’s Army Reserve, enlisted in the Permanent Force and who on the calling out of the Army Reserve upon the commencement of the war between Great Britain and Germany in August 1914, was under liability as a member of such Army Reserve to rejoin his corps, but who, under arrangements made with His Majesty’s Government, was not discharged from the Force subsequent to the calling out of the Army Reserve shall, if he so elects as provided in subsection (2) be granted a pension equal to that which he would have received from British Funds had he rejoined his corps upon the said calling out of the Army Reserve, and served in His Majesty’s Regular Army in ranks corresponding to those he held from time to time in the Canadian Military Forces until the date he was struck off the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, such pension to commence as of and from the date following that on which such officer or militiaman was struck off the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

• Marginal note:Election

  (2) An officer or militiaman to whom subsection (1) applies, shall be required to elect whether he shall be granted the pension therein mentioned, and if he so elects his service from the date of his enlistment in the Force while belonging to the said Army Reserve until the date he was struck off the strength of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, shall not be included in the term of service for any other pension or a gratuity under this Act; any gratuity or pension under this Act granted to an officer or militiaman prior to his so electing shall be re-computed as of the date on which the pension mentioned in subsection (1) commenced by excluding from the term of service on which such gratuity or pension was based the service first mentioned in this subsection; if by the exclusion of such service the officer or militiaman has not sufficient service to entitle him to a gratuity or pension, or the gratuity or pension to which he would be entitled on such re-computation is less than the gratuity or pension heretofore granted, there will be recovered from the pension payable to such officer or militiaman, under subsection (1), all payments of gratuity and pension or overpayments thereof which have resulted; but if an officer who has already been granted a pension under this Act elects as aforesaid, and by the exclusion of the service mentioned he becomes ineligible for the grant of such pension, but becomes eligible for the payment of a gratuity under this Act, then such gratuity shall be applied toward the recovery of the payments of pension already made, and any balance of such payments not met by the application of such gratuity shall be recovered from the pension payable to such officer under subsection (1).

Marginal note:Provision of 1919, c. 61, to apply to certain cases

34 The provisions of chapter 61 of the Statutes of Canada, 1919, being An Act to amend the Militia Pension Act, which came into force on the 7th day of July 1919, apply to those officers and militiamen who by reason of wounds or disabilities received or suffered while on active service during the war between Great Britain and Germany, which commenced on the 4th day of August 1914, were retired or discharged from the force prior to the said 7th day of July 1919, and an officer who, by reason of such retirement before a period at which a pension might have been granted him, received a gratuity and who will by virtue of this section, become eligible for the grant of a pension under this Act, shall be required to elect whether he shall be granted such pension and if he so elects he shall repay such gratuity in such manner as the Governor in Council may determine.

Marginal note:Order to pay pension to another

35 Where the Minister is of the opinion that the pensioner is incapable of expending or is not expending the pension in a proper manner, the Minister may order that the pension be paid to such person as the Minister may appoint, in order that the money may be expended by that person, for the benefit of the pensioner and the members of the pensioner’s family, and the expenses connected with such payment, if any, shall be paid by the Minister.

Marginal note:Diversion of payments to satisfy financial support order

• 35.1 (1) When any court in Canada of competent jurisdiction has made an order requiring a pensioner to pay financial support, amounts payable to the pensioner under this Act are subject to being diverted to the person named in the order in accordance with Part II of the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act.

• Marginal note:Payment deemed to be to pensioner

  (2) For the purposes of this Act, any payment made pursuant to subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been made to the pensioner in respect of whom the payment was made.

• (3) [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 98]

PART II

Marginal note:Royal Canadian Navy

36 This Act, subject to the modifications set out in this Part, applies with respect to the Royal Canadian Navy.

Marginal note:Definitions

• 37 (1) In the application of this Act to the Royal Canadian Navy,

  force

  force means the Royal Canadian Navy; (forces)

  man

  man means chief petty officer, petty officer, leading seaman, able seaman and ordinary seaman and equivalent in the Royal Canadian Navy, and the expression “militiaman”, as used in this Act, includes a man as herein defined; (homme)

  officer

  officer means a commissioned officer, a subordinate officer and a warrant officer of the Royal Canadian Navy; (officier)

  pay

  pay means full pay including, in the case of an officer, specialist’s pay, and, in the case of a man, pay for non-substantive rank held, and includes in both cases marriage allowance and the allowances payable in lieu of lodging, provisions, light and fuel, but shall exclude all other extra pay; (solde)

  rank

  rank means substantive rank, and includes Commodore First Class; (grade)

  service

  service, in the case of a man, does not include time served without pay in the force; (service, dans le cas d’un homme)

  service

  service, in the case of an officer, includes

  • (a) one-half of the time served in the force while in receipt of unemployed pay or half pay, and

  • (b) one-half of the time served in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve or Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve if he has served at least ten years in the Royal Canadian Navy, but the time to be credited to an officer under this definition for service in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve or Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve shall in no case exceed ten years; and if an officer’s pension is increased under the authority of this definition, then in addition to the deductions mentioned in this Act, such pension shall be subject to an annual deduction for a number of years equal to the number of years added to his service under the said authority, such deduction to be equivalent to five per cent of the pay that the officer was receiving at the time of his retirement from the force. (service, dans le cas d’un officier)

• Marginal note:Allowances

  (2) Notwithstanding that lodging, provisions, light and fuel, or any of them, are furnished in kind to an officer, the deductions from pay and pension, mentioned in section 9, and the pensions provided by this Act shall be computed as if the allowances in lieu thereof had in fact been paid.

Marginal note:Promotion to rank of acting warrant officer

38 Notwithstanding anything in this Act, a man who subsequent to the 10th day of September 1939 but prior to the 1st day of January 1947 was promoted to the rank of acting warrant officer shall be treated as a man for the purposes of this Act during the period that he continued to be an acting warrant officer.

Marginal note:Compassionate allowance to child

39 With respect to the payment of a compassionate allowance to the child of an officer under this Act, the allowance so payable shall be by reference to the equivalent naval rank held.

PART III

Marginal note:Permanent Active Air Force

40 This Act, subject to the modifications set out in this Part, applies with respect to the Permanent Active Air Force.

Marginal note:Definitions

41 In applying this Act to the Permanent Active Air Force,

force

force means the Permanent Active Air Force and any other component of the Royal Canadian Air Force the members of which are enlisted or appointed for continuing full-time service; (forces)

man

man means a non-commissioned officer or aircraftman of the force, and the expression militiaman, as used in this Act, includes a man as herein defined; (homme, milicien)

officer

officer means a commissioned officer, a subordinate officer or a warrant officer of the force; (officier)

service

service, in the case of a man, includes

• (a) time served with pay or salary in the public service of Canada under the Air Board prior to the 1st day of April 1924, and

• (b) time served with pay in the Canadian Air Force prior to the 1st day of April 1924; (service, dans le cas d’un homme)

service

service, in the case of an officer, includes

• (a) time served with pay or salary in the public service of Canada under the Air Board prior to the 1st day of April 1924,

• (b) time served with pay in the Canadian Air Force prior to the 1st day of April 1924, and

• (c) half the time served in the Canadian Air Force other than as mentioned in paragraph (b) or in the Royal Canadian Air Force other than the force, but the time to be credited under this paragraph shall in no case exceed ten years, and if an officer’s pension is increased by reason of this paragraph, then in addition to the deductions mentioned in section 9, such pension shall be subject to an annual deduction for a number of years equal to the number of years added to his service under this paragraph, such annual deductions to be equal to five per cent of the pay that the officer was receiving at the time of his retirement from the force. (service, dans le cas d’un officier)

Marginal note:Compassionate allowance to child

42 With respect to the payment of a compassionate allowance to the child of an officer under this Act, the allowance so payable shall be by reference to the equivalent Air Force rank held.

PART IVGeneral

Marginal note:Time and duration of payment

43 Pensions and compassionate allowances granted under this Act are, unless otherwise ordered by the Governor in Council, payable in equal monthly instalments in arrears, and unless otherwise specified by this Act shall continue during the lifetime of the recipient and thereafter until the end of the month during which he dies.

Marginal note:Fractions of years

44 For the purpose of computing pensions or gratuities, fractions of years of service shall be counted.

Marginal note:Act not applicable to certain persons

45 This Act does not apply to officers or militiamen who were not in the forces on the 31st day of March 1946 and who were or are appointed to or enlisted in the forces subsequent to that day and who have not been granted a pension under this Act.

Marginal note:“Service”

46 For the purpose of computing a pension under any of Parts I to III with respect to an officer, “service” in any such Part, in addition to any periods specified in Parts I to III, includes any continuous period of full-time service of six months or more in the naval, army or air forces of His Majesty raised in Canada other than the forces as defined in such Part, under such circumstances and to such extent as the Governor in Council may by regulation prescribe, but such service may not be counted as service under any other provision of any of such Parts, except to the extent prescribed by paragraph 7(a), paragraph (b) of the definition “service” in the case of an officer, in subsection 37(1) or paragraph (c) of the definition “service” in the case of an officer, in section 41, for the purpose of determining eligibility for pension.