Wage Earner Protection Program Act (S.C. 2005, c. 47, s. 1)

Marginal note:Minister informed of appeal

• 15 (1) The Board shall inform the Minister in writing when an appeal is brought and provide him or her with a copy of the request for appeal.

• Marginal note:Documents provided to Board

  (2) The Minister shall, on request of the Board, provide to the Board a copy of any document that the Minister relied on for the purpose of making the decision being appealed.

• Marginal note:Documents provided to Minister

  (3) The Board shall, on request of the Minister, provide to the Minister a copy of any document that is filed with the Board in the appeal.

• Marginal note:Power of Minister

  (4) The Minister may, in an appeal, make representations to the Board in writing.

Marginal note:Appeal on the record

16 The appeal is to be an appeal on the record and no new evidence is admissible.

Marginal note:Board’s decision

17 The Board may confirm, vary or rescind the decision made by the Minister under section 12. If the Board varies the decision, the Minister shall make any payment resulting from the variation.

Marginal note:Copies of decision

18 The Board shall send a copy of its decision, and the reasons for it, to each party to the appeal, to the Minister and to the trustee or receiver.

Marginal note:No review by certiorari, etc.

19 No order may be made to review, prohibit or restrain and no process entered or proceeding taken to question, review, prohibit or restrain in any court — whether by way of injunction, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto or otherwise — an action of the Board under any of sections 14 to 18.

Marginal note:Decision is final

20 The Board’s decision is final and shall not be questioned or reviewed in any court.

Administration

Duties of Trustees and Receivers

Marginal note:General duties

• 21 (1) For the purposes of this Act, a trustee or a receiver, as the case may be, shall

  • (a) identify each individual who is owed eligible wages;

  • (b) determine the amount of eligible wages owing to each individual;

  • (c) inform each individual other than one who is in a class prescribed by regulation of the existence of the program established by section 4 and of the conditions under which payments may be made under this Act;

  • (d) provide the Minister and each individual other than one who is in a class prescribed by regulation with the amount of eligible wages owing to the individual and any other information prescribed by regulation;

  • (e) inform the Minister of when the trustee is discharged or the receiver completes their duties, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Compliance with directions

  (2) A trustee or receiver shall comply with any directions of the Minister relating to the administration of this Act.

• Marginal note:Duty to assist

  (3) A person, other than one described in subsection (4), who has or has access to information described in paragraph (1)(d) shall, on request, provide it to the trustee or the receiver, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Duty to assist — payroll contractors

  (4) A person who is dealing at arm’s length with and providing payroll services to a bankrupt or insolvent person and who has or has access to information described in paragraph (1)(d) shall,

  • (a) if requested by the trustee or receiver, provide the trustee or receiver with a description of the information described in paragraph (1)(d) that they have or have access to and an estimate of the cost of providing the information; and

  • (b) if requested by the trustee or receiver, provide the trustee or receiver with the information described in paragraph (1)(d) that they have or have access to.

Marginal note:Fees and expenses

22 Subject to section 22.1, the trustee’s or receiver’s fees and expenses, in relation to the performance of their duties under this Act, are to be paid out of the estate of the bankrupt employer or the property of the insolvent employer or by the insolvent employer.

Marginal note:Minister to pay fees and expenses

22.1 The Minister shall, in the circumstances prescribed by regulation, pay any fees or expenses of the trustee or receiver that are prescribed by regulation in relation to the performance of their duties under this Act or the performance of their duties and functions or the exercise of their powers under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act or the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Powers of Minister

Marginal note:Directions to trustees and receivers

• 23 (1) The Minister may give directions to trustees and receivers in respect of the performance of their duties under this Act.

• Marginal note:Directions not statutory instruments

  (2) A direction given by the Minister is not a statutory instrument within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Marginal note:Power to summon, etc.

• 24 (1) For the purposes of the administration of this Act, the Minister may

  • (a) summon any person before him or her and require the person to give evidence, orally or in writing, and on oath or, if the person is entitled to affirm in civil matters, on solemn affirmation;

  • (b) require any person to provide the Minister with any information or document that the Minister considers necessary; and

  • (c) require any person to provide an affidavit or a statutory declaration attesting to the truth of any information provided by the person.

• Marginal note:Taking oaths, etc.

  (2) Any person, if designated by the Minister for the purpose, may administer oaths and take and receive affidavits, statutory declarations and solemn affirmations for the purpose of or incidental to the administration of this Act. Every person so designated has, with respect to any such oath, affidavit, declaration or affirmation, all the powers of a commissioner for administering oaths or taking affidavits.

• Marginal note:Acceptance of oaths, etc.

  (3) The Minister may, for the purposes of administering this Act, accept any oath administered or any affidavit, statutory declaration or solemn affirmation taken or received by any person who has the powers of a commissioner for taking affidavits and who is an officer or employee of

  • (a) a department or other portion of the federal public administration specified in any of Schedules I, IV and V to the Financial Administration Act; or

  • (b) a department of the government of a province.

Marginal note:Inspections

• 25 (1) A person designated by the Minister for the purpose may, at any reasonable time, enter any place in which he or she reasonably believes there is any information or document relevant to the administration of this Act and may, in that place,

  • (a) inspect any books, records, electronic data or other documents that he or she reasonably believes may contain information that is relevant to the administration of this Act;

  • (b) use or cause to be used any computer system to examine any data contained in or available to the computer system;

  • (c) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any record from the data in the form of a print-out or other intelligible output;

  • (d) take any document or other thing from the place for examination or, in the case of a document, for copying; and

  • (e) use or cause to be used any copying equipment to make copies of any documents.

• Marginal note:Prior authorization

  (2) If any place referred to in subsection (1) is a dwelling-house, the designated person may not enter the dwelling-house without the consent of the occupant, except under the authority of a warrant issued under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Warrant to enter dwelling-house

  (3) A judge may issue a warrant authorizing the designated person to enter a dwelling-house subject to the conditions specified in the warrant if, on ex parte application, the judge is satisfied by information on oath that

  • (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling-house is a place referred to in subsection (1);

  • (b) entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration of this Act; and

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

• Marginal note:Orders if entry not authorized

  (4) If the judge is not satisfied that entry into the dwelling-house is necessary for any purpose related to the administration of this Act, the judge may, to the extent that access was or may be expected to be refused and that information or documents are or may be expected to be kept in the dwelling-house,

  • (a) order the occupant of the dwelling-house to provide the Minister, or a person designated by the Minister for the purpose, with reasonable access to any information or document that is or should be kept in the dwelling-house; and

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

Marginal note:Duty to assist

26 The owner or person in charge of a place that is entered by the designated person and every person found there must

• (a) give the designated person all reasonable assistance to enable him or her to exercise his or her powers and perform his or her duties; and

• (b) provide the designated person with any information relevant to the administration of this Act that he or she requires.

Marginal note:Information must be made available to Minister

27 Personal information relating to an applicant that is collected or obtained by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission must, if requested by the Minister, be made available to the Minister to determine the applicant’s eligibility to receive a payment under this Act.

28 [Repealed, 2005, c. 47, s. 140]

Marginal note:Social Insurance Number

29 No person may knowingly use, communicate or allow to be communicated a Social Insurance Number that was obtained for a purpose related to an application for a payment under this Act except for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of this Act or the Income Tax Act.

Marginal note:Delegation

30 The Minister may delegate to any person the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty or function that may be exercised or performed by the Minister under this Act.

Marginal note:Audit of applications

• 31 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), the Minister may, on his or her initiative, conduct an audit of any application for payment under this Act.

• Marginal note:Applications with payment

  (2) An audit of an application in respect of which a payment was made may be conducted at any time within three years after the day on which the payment was made.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) If the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that a payment was made on the basis of any false or misleading information, an audit of the application in respect of which the payment was made may be conducted at any time within six years after the payment was made.

• Marginal note:Other applications

  (4) An audit of an application in respect of which no payment was made may be conducted at any time within three years after the day on which the applicant was sent a notice informing the applicant that he or she was not eligible to receive a payment.

Marginal note:No payment or partial payment

31.1 If the Minister determines that an individual did not receive all or part of a payment that they were eligible to receive, the Minister shall make a payment to them in an amount equal to the amount that they did not receive.

Overpayments

Marginal note:Determination of overpayment

• 32 (1) If the Minister determines that an individual received a payment in an amount greater than the amount that they were eligible to receive, the Minister shall send them a notice

  • (a) informing them of the determination; and

  • (b) specifying the amount that they were not eligible to receive.

• Marginal note:Notification

  (2) The Minister shall also inform the trustee or receiver of the determination and the amount that the individual was not eligible to receive.

• (3) [Repealed, 2018, c. 27, s. 642]