War Veterans Allowance Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. W-3)

Marginal note:Rights under Pension Act

13 The right of any veteran to receive a pension under the Pension Act is not affected by anything in this Act or by the receipt of any allowance.

Suspension of Allowance

Marginal note:Absence from Canada

• 14 (1) Where a recipient of an allowance under section 4 absents themself from Canada, payment of the allowance shall, subject to subsection (4) of that section, be suspended immediately following the payment for the month in which the recipient so absents themself, but may be resumed when the recipient returns to Canada.

• Marginal note:On imprisonment of recipient

  (2) Where, on or after July 17, 1980, a recipient of an allowance is convicted of an offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the payment of the allowance shall be suspended from the first day of the seventh month of that imprisonment until the release from imprisonment except that the payment thereof may be continued where the Minister is of the opinion that,

  • (a) where a spouse, common-law partner or child of the recipient is entitled to be supported by the recipient at the time of the recipient’s conviction, the spouse, common-law partner or child continues to be entitled to that support; or

  • (b) the continuation of the payment of the allowance would assist the recipient in his or her rehabilitation.

• Marginal note:On imprisonment of applicant

  (3) Where an applicant for an allowance who is serving a term of imprisonment is eligible for an allowance, an allowance may be awarded to the applicant and may be paid during that imprisonment where the Minister is of the opinion that

  • (a) a spouse, common-law partner or child of the applicant is entitled to be supported by the applicant at the time of the applicant’s conviction and the spouse, common-law partner or child continues to be entitled to that support; or

  • (b) the payment of the allowance would assist the applicant in his or her rehabilitation.

Payment on Behalf of Recipient

Marginal note:Payments to other persons

• 15 (1) Where the Minister is of the opinion that a recipient would be likely to apply the amount of any allowance otherwise than to the best advantage, the Minister may direct the payments to be made to and administered by such person as the Minister selects.

• Marginal note:Holding of allowance for recipient in certain cases

  (2) Where it appears to the Minister that a recipient is,

  • (a) by reason of infirmity, illness or other cause, incapable of managing their own affairs, or

  • (b) not maintaining a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child,

  the Minister may direct that the allowance payable to the recipient be held and administered by the Minister or a person or agency selected by the Minister for the benefit of the recipient and the spouse, common-law partner or dependent child, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Minimum payment to recipient

  (3) In circumstances where paragraph (2)(a) does not apply but paragraph (2)(b) applies, the Minister or person or agency may hold and administer only that portion, if any, of the allowance of a recipient in excess of the amount of allowance that would be payable to the recipient if the recipient were a person to whom the income factor specified in column II of the schedule opposite paragraph 1(a) or, if the recipient is blind, opposite paragraph 1(d), applied.

Marginal note:Indebtedness to Director of Veterans’ Land Act

16 For the purpose of ensuring continued occupancy by a recipient of a home acquired by the recipient under the Veterans’ Land Act, chapter V-4 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970, the Minister may, with the consent in writing of the recipient, enter into an arrangement with The Director, The Veterans’ Land Act to pay to that Director out of the recipient’s allowance an amount not exceeding the amount of principal and interest, calculated on a monthly basis, as provided in the recipient’s agreement of sale with The Director, The Veterans’ Land Act to be applied against the indebtedness of the recipient under the Veterans’ Land Act.

Protection of Allowance

Marginal note:No assignment, seizure, etc.

• 17 (1) Except as provided in this Act, no allowance is subject to

  • (a) assignment, alienation or transfer by the recipient; or

  • (b) seizure or execution, either at law or in equity.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where any provincial or municipal authority in a province pays a person any advance, assistance or welfare payment for a period that would not be paid if an allowance had been paid for that period, and subsequently an allowance becomes payable or payment of an allowance may be made under this Act to that person for that period, the Minister may, in accordance with such terms and conditions as are prescribed by regulations made under section 25, deduct from that allowance and pay to the government of the province or to the municipal authority an amount not exceeding the amount of the advance, assistance or welfare payment paid, if that person had before receiving the advance, assistance or welfare payment from the government of the province or the municipal authority consented in writing to the deduction and payment.

Recoveries and Underpayments

Definition of overpayment

• 18 (1) In this section, overpayment, in relation to any period, means

  • (a) an allowance payment that was paid to a person in respect of that period and to which the person had no entitlement; or

  • (b) if an allowance payment was paid to a person in respect of that period that was in excess of the amount of the allowance payment to which the person was entitled, the amount of that excess.

• Marginal note:Recovery of overpayments

  (1.01) If, through any cause, an overpayment is paid to a person, the overpayment is a debt due to Her Majesty by that person or by that person’s estate or succession, and

  • (a) may be recovered by deduction from any future payments made pursuant to this Act to that person or to that person’s estate or succession;

  • (b) may be recovered in accordance with section 155 of the Financial Administration Act; and

  • (c) may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Excessive payments and underpayments

  (1.1) Where an allowance has been paid in respect of any payment period and it is subsequently determined that the income of the recipient and, if applicable, the recipient’s spouse or common-law partner, for the base calendar year calculated as required by this Act, in this subsection referred to as the “actual income”, is not the same as the income of the recipient, in this subsection referred to as the “shown income”, calculated as required by this Act on the basis of a statement required or permitted by section 8.1 to be made or filed by the recipient, the following adjustment shall be made:

  • (a) if the actual income exceeds the shown income, any amount by which the allowance paid to the recipient for months in that payment period exceeds the allowance that would have been paid to the recipient for those months if the shown income had been equal to the actual income shall be considered an overpayment; or

  • (b) if the shown income exceeds the actual income, there shall be paid to the recipient any amount by which the allowance that would have been paid to the recipient for months in that payment period if the actual income had been equal to the shown income, exceeds the allowance paid to the recipient for those months.

• (1.2) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 75]

• Marginal note:Remission of overpayments

  (2) If a person has received or obtained an overpayment and the Minister is satisfied that

  • (a) the overpayment cannot be recovered within the reasonably foreseeable future,

  • (b) the administrative costs of recovering the overpayment are likely to equal or exceed the amount to be recovered,

  • (c) repayment of the overpayment would cause undue hardship to the person, or

  • (d) the overpayment is the result of an administrative error, delay or oversight on the part of a public servant,

  the Minister may, unless that person has been convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code in connection with the receiving or obtaining of the overpayment, remit all or any portion of the overpayment.

• Marginal note:Recovery from survivor or orphan

  (3) Where a survivor or orphan of a deceased veteran retains any amount of the veteran’s allowance paid after the last day of the month in which the veteran died, that amount may be deducted from any allowance granted to the survivor or orphan.

Quarterly Adjustment of Allowances

Marginal note:Quarterly adjustment of income factor

• 19 (1) The income factors specified in column II of the schedule shall be adjusted quarterly, in such manner as may be prescribed by regulation of the Governor in Council, so that the income factor applicable for a month in any payment quarter is an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying

  • (a) the income factor that would have been applicable for that month if no adjustment had been made under this section with respect to that payment quarter,

  by

  • (b) the ratio that the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter that relates to that payment quarter bears to the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter that relates to that payment quarter.

• Marginal note:References

  (2) Wherever in this Act reference is made to an income factor specified in column II of the schedule, the reference shall be construed as a reference to that income factor adjusted where applicable in the manner provided in this section and sections 20 and 21.

• 20 (1) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 77]

• Marginal note:No adjustment where Consumer Price Index lower

  (2) Where, in relation to any payment quarter, the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter is lower than the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter,

  • (a) no adjustment shall be made pursuant to subsection 19(1) in respect of that payment quarter; and

  • (b) no adjustment shall be made pursuant to that subsection in respect of any subsequent payment quarter until, in relation to a subsequent payment quarter, the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter that relates to that subsequent payment quarter is higher than the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter that relates to the payment quarter referred to in paragraph (a), in which case the second adjustment quarter that relates to the payment quarter referred to in paragraph (a) shall be deemed to be the second adjustment quarter that relates to that subsequent payment quarter.

Marginal note:Where basis of Consumer Price Index changed

21 Where at any time the Consumer Price Index for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, is adjusted to reflect a new time basis or a new content basis with a resulting percentage adjustment being made in the figures for that Index, a corresponding percentage adjustment shall be made in the Consumer Price Index with respect to any adjustment quarter or other period that is used for the purpose of adjusting the income factors specified in column II of the schedule.

Marginal note:Increases

• 22 (1) The income factors specified in column II of the schedule, except the income factor specified for orphans and children, shall be increased simultaneously with and by the same amount as any increase in the amount of each of the Old Age Security pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement provided from time to time by amendments to the Old Age Security Act, other than regular quarterly adjustments made under that Act in relation to the Consumer Price Index.

• (2) and (3) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 78]

23 [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 79]

Evidence

Marginal note:Certificates as evidence

24 In any trial, prosecution or other proceeding,

• (a) a certificate purporting to be signed by the Minister and setting out the amount of allowance obtained and the portion thereof that remains unrepaid or unrecovered as of any day is evidence of the amount of the allowance obtained and the portion thereof that remains unrepaid or unrecovered as of that day, and

• (b) a document purporting to be an adjudication of the Minister or of the Board is evidence of the facts stated therein,

without proof of the signature or official character of any person appearing to have signed the certificate or document and without further proof thereof.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

25 The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying the purposes and provisions of this Act into effect and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

• (a) prescribing the manner of making applications for allowances and the information and evidence to be furnished in connection with such applications;

• (a.1) prescribing an enactment for the purposes of subparagraph 4(3)(c)(ii);

• (b) prescribing the times and manner of payment of allowances and providing for adjustment of those payments in relation to the income of the recipient;

• (c) prescribing circumstances in which an applicant and their spouse or common-law partner, or a recipient and their spouse or common-law partner, are not residing together for the purposes of subsection 4(8);

• (d) defining residence and defining intervals of absence from Canada that shall be deemed not to have interrupted residence in Canada;

• (e) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 80]

• (e.1) prescribing the amount, or prescribing the method of determining the amount, for the purposes of subsection 8.1(3) or (4);

• (f) and (g) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 7 (1st Supp.), s. 7]

• (h) requiring recipients to report any change in their domestic circumstances;

• (i) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 80]

• (j) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 7 (1st Supp.), s. 7]

• (k) prescribing the procedure to be followed in reviews of adjudications by an officer or employee of the Department designated by the Minister for that purpose and to give effect to adjudications;

• (l) [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 20 (3rd Supp.), s. 32]

• (m) [Repealed, 2000, c. 34, s. 80]

• (n) prescribing for the purposes of section 7 the maximum amount of

  • (i) casual earnings of a person without a spouse or common-law partner, a person with a spouse or common-law partner and a person with a spouse or common-law partner who is a veteran, and

  • (ii) interest income of a person without a spouse or common-law partner and a person with a spouse or common-law partner;

• (o) prescribing the terms and conditions for the deduction from an allowance of the amounts to be paid to the government of a province or to a municipal authority pursuant to subsection 17(2);

• (p) prescribing the monthly benefit deemed to be payable for the purposes of subparagraph 4(3)(c)(i); and

• (q) prescribing for the purposes of the schedule the meaning of blind.