Appeal Number 2025-0029 Part C – Decision Under Appeal The decision under appeal is the Reconsideration Decision of the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (“Ministry”) dated January 20, 2025, in which the Ministry denied a moving supplement under section 57 of the Employment and Assistance Regulation to move personal effects from a storage unit in one community, to temporary storage in another community.
The Ministry was satisfied that the Appellant did not have resources to cover the moving costs, but was not satisfied that: • the move was required for one of the reasons set out in section 57; • the Appellant had prior approval to incur the moving costs; • extraordinary circumstances existed so that the Ministry could provide the supplement without prior approval; and • the moving costs were the least expensive appropriate moving costs.
Part D – Relevant Legislation Employment and Assistance Regulation (“Regulation”), section 57
The full text of this legislation is in the Schedule of Legislation at the end of the decision.
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 2
Appeal Number 2025-0029 Part E – Summary of Facts The hearing took place by telephone on February 25, 2025. The Appellant attended with her spouse, and an advocate joining from another location.
Evidence Before the Ministry at Reconsideration
The Appellant and her spouse are in receipt of income assistance. They first applied for income assistance on October 31, 2024, when they were living temporarily at a motel in Community #1, at a rent of $3,100.00 per month. On November 25, 2024, they advised the Ministry that they had moved to other accommodation in the same community, at a rent of $1,600.00 per month.
On November 29, 2024, the Appellant asked for a moving supplement to move belongings from a storage unit in Community #2, to their residence in Community #1. On December 5, 2024, the Ministry approved a moving supplement of $2,200.00 for that purpose.
On December 18, 2024, the Appellant contacted the Ministry and asked for a moving supplement to move belongings from a storage unit in Community #3 (“the belongings”), to her residence in community #1. The belongings had been in storage there since 2022. The Appellant explained that the belongings had not been included in the first request for a moving supplement, and she wanted to move these items because she did not want to pay the storage fees in January 2025.
On December 24, 2024, the Appellant contacted the Ministry again and asked for a moving supplement of $1,600.00 to pay an individual (“Individual A”) to move the belongings from the storage unit in Community #3, to a property in Community #1. She told the Ministry that Individual A would keep the belongings in his cube van temporarily, for three months, until she and her spouse could find permanent housing. She told the Ministry that the storage company in Community #3 was not demanding that she remove the items, but she did not want to pay the storage fees in January 2025.
On December 31, 2024, the Ministry denied the Appellant’s request for a moving supplement on the basis that the Appellant was not compelled to move the belongings out of the storage unit in Community #3.
On December 31, 2024, the Appellant had Individual A move the belongings out of the storage unit in Community #3. Individual A has held the belongings in the cube van, pending payment, since that date.
On January 4, 2025, the Appellant asked for reconsideration of the decision to deny the moving supplement and explained:
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 3
Appeal Number 2025-0029 • Individual A had reduced the fee for movin g and storage of the belongings to $1,100.00. • If Individual A had not moved the belongings by December 31, 2024, the Appellant would have lost the belongings because they would have been put up for auction by the storage facility. • She now had to pay the fee and retrieve the belongings from Individual A by January 20, 2025, when Individual A would be leaving Community #3. • If not for the intervention of a dedicated health care team, she could have been suicidal over the potential loss of the belongings. • The belongings included her mother’s ashes, wedding photographs, clothing, collectibles, original paintings and a television.
With the Request for Reconsideration, the Appellant provided the following documents: • Estimates from two other moving companies, one for $2,400.00 and another for $2,645.90; and • Receipt from the storage facility dated April 19, 2024, indicating that the storage fees were paid through December 31, 2024, with monthly charges of $278.25 to be debited on the first of the month from June through December 2024.
Additional Evidence:
Appellant:
Notice of Appeal:
In the Notice of Appeal, the Appellant stated: • When she first requested the moving supplement, she had tried to submit a receipt to show that the storage unit was rented only until December 31, 2024, but the Ministry worker “declined our entry.” • In trying to request the moving supplement, she had been promised a call back from Ministry workers eight times, and did not receive one. • She called the Ministry twice a day and went in to the Ministry office “when we could”. • She received a supplement form with incorrect guidance for requirements.
Additional Written Evidence:
The Appellant provided receipts from two motels in Community #1 and bank statements for November and December 2024 and January 2025 showing income and expenditures. The receipts show that the residence to which the Appellant moved on November 29, 2024 was also a motel.
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 4
Hearing:
Appeal Number 2025-0029
At the hearing, the Appellant and her advocate explained: • Individual A moved the belongings out of the storage unit in Community #3 and continues to keep them in a cube van in Community #1. • The Appellant and her spouse now live in Community #4, and Individual A has agreed to move the belongings to the Appellant’s residence in Community #4, once he has been paid for the moving and temporary storage. • The Appellant’s rent in Community #4 is $1,425.00 per month, which is less than her rent in Community #1. • The Appellant did not include the belongings in her first request for a moving supplement from Community #2 to Community #1 because she did not want to move the belongings while she was in temporary accommodation. • The Appellant had borrowed money to pay the storage fees in Community #3 for one year in advance, in January 2024. She did not have money to pay the new storage fees starting in January 2025. • In December 2024, an employee at the storage facility in Community #3 told the Appellant that, if she did not pay the January 2025 storage fee, her belongings would be sold at auction.
In answer to a question from the Ministry, the Appellant said that, when she asked for the moving supplement, her intention was to have the belongings moved into the motel where she and her spouse were living in Community #1.
Admissibility
The Ministry did not object to the additional evidence in the Appellant’s Notice of Appeal and at the hearing. The Panel finds that the additional written and oral evidence of the Appellant is reasonably necessary to determine the issues in the appeal, and therefore it is admissible under section 22(4) of the Employment and Assistance Act.
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 5
Part F – Reasons for Panel Decision
Appeal Number 2025-0029
The issue on appeal is whether the Ministry’s Reconsideration Decision is reasonably supported by the evidence, or a reasonable application of the legislation in the Appellant’s circumstances. The Ministry denied the Appellant’s request for a moving supplement under section 57 of the Regulation to move her belongings from a storage unit in Community #3 to temporary storage in Community #1.
Appellant’s Position
The Appellant says that her request for a further moving supplement meets the requirements of section 57 of the Regulation. She says she was compelled to move the belongings out of the storage unit in Community #3 because she did not have resources to pay the January 2025 storage fees, and the storage facility told her that if she did not remove the belongings they would be confiscated and sold at auction. The Appellant maintains that she had to move the belongings without prior approval from the Ministry because the Ministry failed to communicate with her in a timely way, and the statement from the storage facility put her in a stressful and panicked state, where she had to get the belongings moved quickly to preserve them.
Ministry’s Position
The Ministry says that the Appellant’s request for a moving supplement to move the belongings from a storage unit in Community #3 does not meet the requirements under section 57 of the Regulation. The Ministry says that the Appellant was not moving the belongings for one of the reasons in section 57 of the Regulation. The Ministry also says that the Appellant did not request prior approval before moving the belongings from the storage unit in Community #3. The Ministry was not satisfied that it was necessary to move the belongings before getting Ministry approval, and therefore the Ministry was not satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist, to permit the Ministry to provide the supplement without prior approval under section 57(3.1) of the Regulation.
The Ministry was satisfied that the Appellant does not have resources to pay the moving costs.
The Ministry also maintained that the moving and storage fee the Appellant requested was not the least expensive appropriate moving cost under section 57(4) of the Regulation. The Ministry determined that the “least expensive appropriate option” for storing the belongings was the $278.25 monthly storage at the storage facility in Community #3, rather than the moving and storage fee the Appellant requested.
Panel Decision
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 6
Appeal Number 2025-0029
Under section 57 of the Regulation, the Ministry may provide a moving supplement for moving costs if the request meets the criteria in section 57. The supplement must be required for one of the reasons set out in section 57(2) of the Regulation.
Moving costs are defined in section 57(1) of the Regulation: “Moving cost” means the cost of (a) moving a family unit and the family unit’s personal effects from one place to another, and (b) storing the family unit’s personal effects while the family unit is moving if the minister is satisfied that storing the personal effects is necessary to preserve the personal effects.
On December 5, 2024, the Ministry approved a moving supplement to move the Appellant’s personal effects from a storage unit in Community #2, to the Appellant’s residence in Community #1. The move met the requirements for a moving supplement under section 57(2)(d) of the Regulation because the Appellant’s shelter costs were significantly reduced as a result of the move.
On December 18, 2024, the Appellant requested a further moving supplement of $1,600.00 to move additional personal items (defined above as “the belongings”) from a storage unit in Community #3 to Community #1. That amount has since been reduced to $1,100.00 and will include moving the belongings (which are still being kept in Individual A’s cube van) to Community #4 where the Appellant now has a permanent residence. The belongings had been stored in a facility where the storage fees were pre-paid to the end of December 2024, but the Appellant did not have resources to pay for storage beyond that date. She was told that, if she did not pay the storage fees for January 2025, the belongings would be sold at auction.
The Ministry did not provide a decision about the request until December 31, 2024, which was the last day for the Appellant to remove the belongings from the storage facility. As the Appellant did not have a decision from the Ministry in time, she made the necessary decision to have Individual A remove the belongings, rather than incur storage fees she could not pay, and risk having the belongings confiscated and sold to pay the fees.
The Panel finds that the Appellant’s request for a moving supplement meets the requirements under section 57 of the Regulation. Under section 57(1), “moving cost” includes the cost of moving the family unit’s personal effects. The Appellant’s personal effects were stored in two locations. She did not ask to move all her personal effects at the same time, as she was not yet in a permanent residence when she asked for the first moving supplement on November 29, 2024. The Panel finds that, in those circumstances, it is not reasonable for the Ministry to limit
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 7
Appeal Number 2025-0029 the request for moving costs to only one move of belongings from one location; the legislation does not limit the supplement for moving costs in that way.
In determining whether the Appellant’s request met the requirements under section 57 of the Regulation, the Ministry appears to have considered that request separate from the Appellant’s earlier request that was approved less than two weeks previously. In doing so, the Ministry determined that the Appellant was not moving the belongings for any of the reasons set out in section 57(2). However, the Panel finds that the cost of moving the belongings from Community #3 was part of moving the Appellant’s personal effects to Community #1. The Ministry approved that move, which had resulted in a significant reduction in the Appellant’s shelter costs, and so met one of the required reasons, under section 57(2)(d). The Panel finds that it is not reasonable to assess the move of the belongings from the storage facility in Community #3 without reference to the very recent move to Community #1. The Panel finds that moving the belongings from Community #3 falls under the definition of “moving costs” under section 57(1) because it was part of moving the Appellant’s family unit and their personal effects to Community #1.
Least Expensive Appropriate Moving Cost
At reconsideration, the Ministry determined that the moving and storage fee that Individual A was charging, was not the least expensive appropriate moving cost under section 57(4) of the Regulation. The Ministry stated that “the least expensive appropriate option for storing [the Appellant's] personal items in this case is the monthly fee at the storage facility.”
The Panel finds that this determination is not a reasonable application of the legislation. The Ministry is comparing an ongoing storage fee to a charge for removal and delivery of the belongings. Removal and delivery of personal items, and temporary storage in the course of a move, meet the definition of “moving cost” under section 57(1) of the Regulation. Continuing storage of items that have been in storage since 2022 does not meet that definition, which is limited to storage while the family unit is moving if it is necessary to preserve the personal effects. Therefore, the least expensive option for continuing storage of the Appellant’s belongings is not relevant to a determination of appropriate moving costs under section 57(4). Further, in order to be a reasonable comparison, the Ministry would need to compare the cost of temporary storage, removal and delivery of the belongings, not just storage.
The removal and delivery charge appears to include ongoing storage in the cube van only because the Appellant has not been able to pay the removal and delivery fee. When she can pay the removal and delivery fee, the belongings will be delivered to her permanent residence in Community #4. The removal and delivery charge of $1,100.00 is lower than either of the other estimates the Appellant obtained. Therefore, the Panel finds that the amount the Appellant has
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 8
Appeal Number 2025-0029 requested to pay A for removal and delivery of th e belongings is the lease expensive appropriate moving cost.
Need for Prior Approval
The Appellant did not have prior approval from the Ministry before she had Individual A move the belongings. The Ministry found that there were no exceptional circumstances that would authorize the Ministry to provide the moving supplement without prior approval. The Ministry noted that the Appellant had told the Ministry that she wanted to move the belongings to avoid paying storage fees in January 2025.
However, at the hearing, the Appellant provided further information. She explained that, in January 2024 she pre-paid the storage fees through to the end of December 2024, and she did not have funds to pay the new storage fees in January 2025. The Ministry was satisfied that the Appellant did not have resources to pay moving costs, which supports the Appellant’s evidence that she did not have funds to pay ongoing storage fees. The Appellant also explained her panic when the storage facility told her that the belongings, which included her mother’s ashes, family photographs and keepsakes, would be sold at auction if she did not remove them by December 31, 2024. The Appellant requested the supplement for moving the belongings on December 18, 2024 and was not able to get a decision from the Ministry until December 31, 2024 (and in any event, the decision was a denial of her request).
Whether or not the storage facility would actually have been in a legal position to confiscate and auction the Appellant’s belongings after December 31, 2024, the Appellant believed that was the risk if she did not remove the belongings. The Panel finds that the perceived risk of losing the belongings, some of which were irreplaceable, others of which were valuable and needed by the Appellant, with the resulting stress and panic for the Appellant, amounts to an exceptional circumstance that would authorize the Ministry to provide the supplement for moving costs where costs were incurred without prior approval, under section 57(3.1) of the Regulation.
Conclusion
The Panel finds that the Ministry’s Reconsideration Decision, in which the Ministry determined that the Appellant was not eligible for a supplement for moving costs to move personal effects from storage in Community #3 to Community #1, was not a reasonable application of the legislation in the Appellant’s circumstances. The Panel rescinds the Reconsideration Decision. The Appellant is successful in the appeal.
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 9
Appeal Number 2025-0029 Schedule of L egislation
Employment and Assistance Regulation
Supplements for moving, transportation and living costs s. 57 (1) In this section: "living cost" means the cost of accommodation and meals; "moving cost" means the cost of (a) moving a family unit and the family unit's personal effects from one place to another, and (b) storing the family unit's personal effects while the family unit is moving if the minister is satisfied that storing the personal effects is necessary to preserve the personal effects; "transportation cost" means the cost of travelling from one place to another. (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the minister may provide a supplement to or for a family unit that is eligible for income assistance or hardship assistance to assist with one or more of the following: (a) moving costs required to move anywhere in Canada, if a recipient in the family unit is not working but has arranged confirmed employment that would significantly promote the financial independence of the family unit and the recipient is required to move to begin that employment; (b) moving costs required to move to another province or country, if the family unit is required to move to improve its living circumstances; (c) moving costs required to move anywhere in British Columbia because the family unit is being compelled to vacate the family unit's rented residential accommodation for any reason, including the following: (i) the accommodation is being sold; (ii) the accommodation is being demolished; (iii) the accommodation has been condemned; (d) moving costs required to move anywhere in British Columbia if the family unit's shelter costs would be significantly reduced as a result of the move; (e) moving costs required to move anywhere in British Columbia to avoid an imminent threat to the physical safety of any person in the family unit; (f) transportation costs and living costs required to attend a hearing relating to a child protection proceeding under the Child, Family and Community Service Act, if a recipient is given notice of the hearing and is a party to the proceeding; (g) transportation costs, living costs, child care costs and fees resulting from (i) the required attendance of a recipient in the family unit at a hearing, or (ii) other requirements a recipient in the family unit must fulfil in connection with the exercise of a maintenance right assigned to the minister under section 20 [assignment of maintenance rights].
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 10
Appeal Number 2025-0029 (3) A family unit is eligible for a supplement unde r this section only if (a) there are no resources available to the family unit to cover the costs for which the supplement may be provided, and (b) subject to subsection (3.1), a recipient in the family unit receives the minister's approval before incurring those costs. (3.1) A supplement may be provided even if the family unit did not receive the minister's approval before incurring the costs if the minister is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist. (4) A supplement may be provided under this section only to assist with (a) in the case of a supplement under subsection (2) (a) to (e), the least expensive appropriate moving costs, and (b) in the case of a supplement under subsection (2) (f) or (g), the least expensive appropriate transportation costs and the least expensive appropriate living costs.
Employment and Assistance Act s. 22 (4) A panel may consider evidence that is not part of the record as the panel considers is reasonably required for a full and fair disclosure of all matters related to the decision under appeal.
EAAT003 (30/08/23) 11
APPEAL NUMBER 2025-0029 Part G – Order The panel decision is: (Check one) ☒Unanimous ☐By Majority
The Panel ☐Confirms the Ministry Decision ☒Rescinds the Ministry Decision If the ministry decision is rescinded, is the panel decision referred back to the Minister for a decision as to amount? Yes☐ No☒
Legislative Authority for the Decision: Employment and Assistance Act Section 24(1)(a)☐ or Section 24(1)(b) ☒ Section 24(2)(a)☐ or Section 24(2)(b) ☒
Part H – Signatures Print Name Susan Ferguson Signature of Chair
Date (Year/Month/Day) 2025/02/28
Print Name David Handelman
Signature of Member
Print Name Kenneth Smith Signature of Member
Date (Year/Month/Day) 2025/02/28
Date (Year/Month/Day)
2025/02/28
EAAT003 (17/08/21)
Signature Page