Veterans Well-being Act (S.C. 2005, c. 21)

Waiver

Marginal note:Waiver of requirement for application

• 78.1 (1) The Minister may waive the requirement for an application for compensation, career transition services, rehabilitation services or vocational assistance under this Act if he or she believes, based on information that has been collected or obtained by him or her in the exercise of the Minister’s powers or the performance of the Minister’s duties and functions, that a person may be eligible for the compensation, services or assistance if they were to apply for it.

• Marginal note:Notice of intent

  (2) If the Minister intends to waive the requirement for an application in respect of a person, the Minister shall notify the person in the prescribed manner of that intention.

• Marginal note:Accepting waiver

  (3) The person may accept to have the requirement for an application waived by notifying the Minister in the prescribed manner of their decision to accept the waiver and, in that case, the person shall, in any period specified by the Minister, provide him or her with any information or document that he or she requests.

• Marginal note:Date of waiver

  (4) The requirement for an application is waived on the day on which the Minister receives the person’s notice of their decision to accept the waiver of the requirement.

• Marginal note:Minister may require application

  (5) The Minister may, at any time after he or she notifies the person of his or her intention to waive the requirement for an application and for any reason that he or she considers reasonable in the circumstances, including if the person does not provide the Minister with the information that he or she requested in the period that he or she specifies, require that the person make an application and, in that case, the Minister shall notify the person in writing of that requirement.

• Marginal note:Waiver cancelled

  (6) A waiver is cancelled on the day on which the Minister notifies the person that they are required to make an application.

Marginal note:Effect of waiver

• 78.2 (1) If the requirement for an application for compensation, career transition services, rehabilitation services or vocational assistance under this Act is waived by the Minister, the application is deemed to have been made on the day on which the requirement is waived.

• Marginal note:Effect of cancelling waiver

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if the waiver is cancelled after the day on which the Minister receives the person’s notice of their decision to accept the waiver, no application is deemed to have been made.

Inspection

Marginal note:Right to inspect records, etc.

• 79 (1) Any person described in subsection (2) or (3) may, for the purpose of preparing an application under this Act or deciding whether or not to prepare an application, inspect

  • (a) the service and medical records of a member or a veteran;

  • (b) the Department of Veterans Affairs’ records relating to an application made under this Act; and

  • (c) all material relating to an application referred to in paragraph (b).

• Marginal note:Persons who have right to inspect records, etc.

  (2) The right to inspect under subsection (1) applies to any person who is

  • (a) an applicant or a representative of the applicant;

  • (b) a qualified health professional who is consulted by the applicant or by a representative of the applicant; and

  • (c) an officer or employee of the federal public administration whose duties require the inspection of those records or that material.

• Marginal note:Veterans’ organizations

  (3) A representative of a veterans’ organization incorporated by or under an Act of Parliament who is consulted by an applicant or by a representative of the applicant has the right to inspect for the purpose of preparing an application or deciding whether or not to prepare an application under Part 3.

Sharing of Information

Marginal note:Information that shall be made available to Minister

80 Personal information held by a government institution, as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act shall, if requested by the Minister, be made available to the Minister for the purposes of this Act.

Marginal note:Information that Minister may disclose

81 Personal information that has been collected or obtained by the Minister in the administration of this Act may be disclosed by the Minister

• (a) to any person or body, to the extent that the disclosure is necessary in order for the Minister to obtain from that person or body information that the Minister requires for the administration of this Act or any other enactment administered by the Minister;

• (b) to any officer or employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to the extent that the disclosure is required for the administration of this Act or any other enactment administered by the Minister;

• (c) to any person or body, to the extent that the disclosure is required for the purpose of obtaining a payment that is due to Canada by

  • (i) the United Nations, or

  • (ii) another international organization or another country, pursuant to an international agreement;

• (d) to the Department of Employment and Social Development, to the extent that the disclosure is required for the administration of the Old Age Security Act or the Canada Pension Plan;

• (e) to the Correctional Service of Canada, to the extent that the disclosure is required for the administration of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act; and

• (f) to the Department of Employment and Social Development or an official of the Canada Revenue Agency, to the extent that the disclosure is required for the administration of a program to provide a one-time payment to persons with disabilities for reasons related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Marginal note:Social Insurance Number

82 The Minister may, for the purpose of determining whether a person is entitled to an income replacement benefit or a Canadian Forces income support benefit under this Act,

• (a) collect the person’s Social Insurance Number; and

• (b) disclose that person’s Social Insurance Number to any department or agency of the Government of Canada.

Review

Marginal note:Review of decision under Part 1, 1.1, 2 or 3.1

83 Subject to the regulations, the Minister may, on application or on the Minister’s own motion, review a decision made under Part 1, 1.1, 2 or 3.1 or under this section.

Marginal note:Review of decisions under Part 3

84 The Minister may, on the Minister’s own motion, review a decision under Part 3 and may either confirm the decision or amend or rescind it if the Minister determines that there was an error with respect to any finding of fact or the interpretation of any law, or may do so, on application, if new evidence is presented to the Minister.

Marginal note:Review by Board

85 An applicant who is dissatisfied with a decision made by the Minister under Part 3 or under section 84 may apply to the Board for a review of the decision.

Marginal note:Permission of Board required

86 The Minister may not consider an application made under Part 3 or under section 84 that has already been the subject of a determination by the Board unless

• (a) the applicant has obtained the permission of the Board; or

• (b) the Board has referred the application to the Minister for reconsideration.

Marginal note:Representation of applicant

87 In all proceedings under section 84 or 85, an applicant may be represented by a service bureau of a veterans’ organization or, at the applicant’s own expense, by any other representative of the applicant’s choice.

Payments

Marginal note:Amount paid to survivor

• 87.1 (1) Any amount that is payable under this Act to a person who dies before receiving it, is to be paid to their survivor.

• Marginal note:Amount paid to estate or succession

  (2) However, the amount is to be paid to the person’s estate or succession if they have no survivor or their survivor dies before receiving the amount.

• Marginal note:Definition of survivor

  (3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), survivor, in relation to a deceased person, means

  • (a) their spouse who was, at the time of the person’s death, residing with them; or

  • (b) the person who was, at the time of the person’s death, cohabiting with them in a conjugal relationship and had done so for a period of at least one year.

Overpayments

Marginal note:Definition of overpayment

• 88 (1) In this section, overpayment means any compensation, or a part of it, that was paid to a person or their estate or succession and to which the person or the estate or succession had no entitlement.

• Marginal note:Recovery of overpayment

  (2) If, through any cause, an overpayment is paid to a person or their estate or succession, the overpayment is a debt due to Her Majesty by the person or by their estate or succession, and may be recovered

  • (a) by deduction from any future payments made under this Act to the person or their estate or succession;

  • (b) in accordance with section 155 of the Financial Administration Act; or

  • (c) by proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Remission of overpayment

  (3) If a person or their estate or succession has received or obtained an overpayment, the Minister may, unless that person or the executor of the estate or the liquidator of the succession 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 if 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) the repayment of the overpayment would cause undue hardship to the person or a beneficiary; or

  • (d) the overpayment is the result of an administrative error, a delay or an oversight on the part of an officer or employee of the federal public administration.

• Marginal note:Erroneous payments

  (4) Despite anything in this Act, the Minister may continue the payment of an education and training benefit, an income replacement benefit, a Canadian Forces income support benefit, pain and suffering compensation, additional pain and suffering compensation, a clothing allowance or a caregiver recognition benefit, in whole or in part, to a person who is not entitled to it, or not entitled to a portion of it, if

  • (a) the amount paid to the person to which the person was not entitled is the result of an administrative error, a delay or an oversight on the part of an officer or employee of the federal public administration and has been remitted under paragraph (3)(d);

  • (b) no part of the amount paid to the person to which the person was not entitled was the result of a misrepresentation or of concealment of a material fact on the part of the person, in the opinion of the Minister;

  • (c) the cancellation or reduction of the benefit, allowance, pain and suffering compensation or additional pain and suffering compensation would, in the opinion of the Minister, cause undue hardship to the person; and

  • (d) the benefit, allowance, pain and suffering compensation or additional pain and suffering compensation has been paid to the person for five years or more or, in the case of an education and training benefit, for three years or more.

• Marginal note:Recovery of overpayments

  (5) If a person retains any amount of a member’s or a veteran’s compensation paid after the member’s or veteran’s death and to which the member or veteran was not entitled, that amount may be deducted from any compensation paid to that person.