War Service Grants Act (R.S.C. 1970, c. W-4)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the War Service Grants Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act

business

business includes trade, industry or profession; (entreprise ou fonds de commerce)

credit

credit and re-establishment credit mean the credit provided for under Part II; (crédit ou crédit de réadaptation)

deceased member

deceased member includes a member of the forces who for the purposes of the force in which he served is officially presumed to have died; (membre décédé)

dependants’ allowance

dependants’ allowance dependants’ allowance means the marriage allowance and dependants’ allowances prescribed by regulations made by the Governor in Council pursuant to the National Defence Act, the Naval Service Act, chapter 139 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, The Naval Service Act, 1944, the Militia Act, chapter 132 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, or The Royal Canadian Air Force Act, chapter 15 of the Statutes of Canada, 1940, as the case may be; (indemnité pour charges de famille ou allocations familiales militaires)

discharge

discharge means ceasing to serve on active service in the forces since the 10th day of September 1939; (libération)

forces

forces means the naval, army or air forces of His Majesty raised in Canada; (forces)

gratuity

gratuity and war service gratuity mean the gratuity payable under Part I; (gratification ou gratification de service de guerre)

home

home means a house or building intended for human habitation and owned

• (a) solely by the member,

• (b) by the member’s spouse or jointly by the member and his spouse,

• (c) by a parent of the member who is dependent upon the member for support,

• (d) jointly by the parents of the member, one of whom is dependent upon the member for support, or

• (e) jointly by the member and one or both of his parents,

and used or to be used by the member as his dwelling, together with the land upon which it is situated including in the case of a farm, land used therewith for the purpose of farming; (habitation)

member of the forces

member of the forces and member mean any person who was on service in the forces during the war that commenced in September 1939 and include any person who served in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps since the 13th day of August 1941; (membre des forces ou membre)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Veterans Affairs; (Ministre)

misconduct

misconduct includes

• (a) the commission of an offence under the National Defence Act, the Naval Discipline Act, the Army Act or the Air Force Act, of which the member was convicted by a court-martial, including in the case of naval forces, a disciplinary court, or of which he was found guilty upon summary disposition of the charge,

• (b) the commission of an offence of which the member was convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction, and

• (c) such misconduct as might, in the case of an officer, result in his removal from the forces; (mauvaise conduite)

overseas service

overseas service means any service involving duties required to be performed outside the Western Hemisphere, and includes service involving duties required to be performed outside Canada and the United States and the territorial waters thereof in aircraft or anywhere in a ship or other vessel, service in which is classed as “sea time” for the purpose of advancement of naval ratings, or which would be so classed were the ship or other vessel in the service of the naval forces of Canada; (service outre-mer)

pay and allowances

pay and allowances includes dependants’ allowance together with all other allowances calculable and payable on a daily basis except

• (a) kit upkeep allowances,

• (b) underclothing allowances,

• (c) travelling allowances,

• (d) lodging and provisional allowance or subsistence allowance as the case may be in excess of the standard rates payable in Canada at the date of discharge, and

• (e) any special allowance payable overseas but not payable in respect of service in Canada; (solde et allocations)

purchase of a business

purchase of a business includes the purchase of an interest in an existing partnership and the advance of capital for a new partnership, if the partnership business is to be the main occupation of the member and he intends to participate actively in that business; (achat d’un fonds de commerce)

service

service means time served on active service in the forces

• (a) while enlisted or obligated to serve without territorial limitation,

• (b) in the Aleutian Islands, the United Kingdom or the European or the Mediterranean operational theatres, or

• (c) while proceeding from Canada to any of the places mentioned in paragraph (b) or returning from any of those places to Canada; (service)

Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere means the continents of North and South America, the islands adjacent thereto and the territorial waters thereof, including Newfoundland, Bermuda and the West Indies, but excluding Greenland, Iceland and the Aleutian Islands. (hémisphère occidental)

PART IWar Service Gratuity

Marginal note:Gratuity payable to member of the forces

• 3 (1) Subject to this Act, every member of the forces is, upon discharge, entitled to be paid a war service gratuity at the rate of seven dollars and fifty cents for every completed period of thirty days of service, and an additional sum of twenty-five cents for every day of overseas service that falls within such periods.

• Marginal note:Supplementary gratuity

  (2) In addition to the amounts mentioned in subsection (1), every member of the forces whose service includes overseas service is, upon discharge, entitled to be paid for each period of one hundred and eighty-three days of overseas service and proportionately for any less period, an amount computed on the basis of seven days pay and allowances that were payable to or in respect of him at the date of discharge.

• Marginal note:Computation of supplementary gratuity

  (3) Where a member joined the permanent naval or army forces or the regular air forces of Canada on or before the 31st day of March 1946, or volunteers and is accepted for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after the 30th day of September 1947, the amount payable to such member under subsection (2) shall be computed on the basis of the rates of pay and allowances payable to him or on his behalf at the commencement of his service excluded by section 4.

• Marginal note:Pay and allowances at lower rates

  (4) Where a member has been required, prior to the date on which he ceases to be entitled to gratuity, to accept pay and allowances at lower rates, by reason of reversion in rank or appointment, or otherwise as a condition of acceptance for service in the permanent naval or army forces or regular air force of Canada, or in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after the 30th day of September 1947, the rates of pay and allowances payable to him or on his behalf immediately prior to the date of his joining the permanent naval or army forces or the regular air force of Canada, or his acceptance for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after the 30th day of September 1947 may be used for the purpose of computing the amount paid to him under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Posting of member for discharge

  (5) Where a member is posted from an establishment, unit or ship for discharge purposes and his pay and allowances are reduced as a result of such posting the pay and allowances received by him immediately prior to such posting shall be used for the purpose of computing the amount paid to him under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Pay and allowances

  (6) For the purposes of this section the expression pay and allowances includes

  • (a) in the case of a member of the naval forces, lodging and provision allowance, and

  • (b) in the case of a member of the army or air forces, subsistence allowance at the standard rates payable in Canada,

  notwithstanding that at the date of his discharge he was not receiving such allowances.

• Marginal note:Period of overseas service

  (7) A period of overseas service shall be deemed to commence on the day the member is posted to the strength of an overseas unit, establishment or ship and to conclude on the day he is taken on strength from overseas.

• Marginal note:Period of temporary duty overseas

  (8) A period of temporary duty overseas shall be deemed to be a period of overseas service and to commence on the day of proceeding from the parent unit, establishment or ship and to conclude on the day of the return thereto.

• Marginal note:Determination of dates of posting

  (9) In the case of naval forces the date shown on the certificate of service and on the list of official appointments shall be used for the purpose of this section in determining the dates of posting to and from His Majesty’s Canadian ships and establishments with respect to any former member.

Marginal note:Cessation of entitlement

• 4 (1) No member or former member of the naval, army or air forces of His Majesty is entitled to any gratuity or credit under this Act in respect of service in such forces subsequent to

  • (a) the day of his acceptance as a member of the permanent naval or army forces or the regular air force of Canada if he is so accepted after the 31st day of March 1946;

  • (b) the 31st day of March 1946 if on that day he is a member of the permanent naval or army forces or the regular air force of Canada serving on active service; or

  • (c) the 31st day of March 1946 if he volunteers and is accepted for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after the 30th day of September 1947, unless he was serving on overseas service on the 31st day of August 1945, and remains continuously on the strength of an establishment or unit or ship on overseas service, in which case he is entitled to such gratuity and credit in respect of all such service.

• Marginal note:Full gratuity and credit

  (2) A member or former member of the naval, army or air forces of Canada entitled to a gratuity or credit under this Act is entitled to such gratuity and credit in respect of all his full-time service as such, if he is not accepted as a member of the permanent naval or army forces or the regular air force of Canada or is not accepted for service in the naval, army or air forces of Canada for a special period terminating on or after the 30th day of September 1947.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may make such regulations as may be advisable to provide for the termination of entitlement under this Act of persons not mentioned in subsection (1) or (2).

Marginal note:Payment in case of death

• 5 (1) Where a member of the forces dies on service or after discharge but before he has been paid gratuity in full, payment of the gratuity or the unpaid balance thereof shall be made

  • (a) to a person who was in receipt of or who, in the opinion of the Minister, was eligible for dependants’ allowance on behalf of the deceased member immediately prior to the member’s death or discharge;

  • (b) to a person who, in the opinion of the Minister, would have been eligible for dependants’ allowance on behalf of the deceased member immediately prior to the member’s death or discharge had such person not been a member of the forces; or

  • (c) to a person who, in the opinion of the Minister or such authority as he may designate, was dependent in whole or in part upon a deceased member and to whom pay was assigned by such member immediately prior to the member’s death or discharge.

• Marginal note:Payment to more than one person

  (2) Where more than one person is entitled to payment of the gratuity under this section the Minister may direct that the gratuity be paid to any one of such persons or divided among them in such manner as he may determine.

• Marginal note:Payment to authorised person

  (3) The Minister may authorize any person to receive payment of the gratuity on behalf of the person entitled thereto under subsection (1) or subsection (2) and to utilize the gratuity for the benefit of the person entitled thereto in such manner as the authorized person in his discretion may determine.

• Marginal note:Gratuity forming part of service estate

  (4) Where no person qualifies to receive payment of the gratuity or any unpaid balance thereof under this section in respect of a deceased member, the gratuity or the unpaid balance thereof shall form part of and be comprised in the deceased member’s service estate as that expression is defined in subsection 39(2) of the National Defence Act.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (5) Where a person who was qualified to receive payment of a gratuity or any part thereof under this section dies before payment thereof or before payment thereof in full the gratuity or that part thereof payable to him or any unpaid balance thereof shall not be paid to the estate of such person but shall be paid to such other person as may be entitled thereto in accordance with this Act and if no other person is so entitled, shall form part of and be comprised in the deceased member’s service estate in accordance with subsection (4).