When the officer receives information from a third party that results in the reduction or cancellation of the benefit, the officer will notify the client by sending a notice.
The information received must be complete and allow for the cancellation or reduction of assistance. It may come from:
From an exchange of information between the officer and an agency that has an agreement with the officer;
A document or information from a third party, such as:
- a return mailing;
- Confirmation of a move by a landlord;
Purpose of the notice
The purpose of providing notice of termination or reduction of benefits is to ensure that a client does not have their financial assistance reduced or cancelled without notice because the information is coming from a third party.
By notifying the person in writing of the receipt of the information, the person has the opportunity to respond.
Notice must be given to the client before a decision is made to reduce or cancel their benefit.
Failure to provide notice may result in the decision being invalid. Despite this, there are circumstances where notice is not necessary or timely. Notice is not required in the following situations:
- The person declares his or her own situation;
- After an entitlement has been realized, since the person had stated that he or she expected an amount of money;
- Upon the death of a person.
Deadline for giving notice
The client has 10 calendar days from the date the notice is issued to make representations and to provide the necessary documents to update their file, if applicable.
Note
Calendar days refer to all days in a week, as opposed to business days which are Monday through Friday.
THE CLIENT TAKES POSSESSION of the notice and contacts the agent during the delay
When the client takes possession of the notice to reduce or terminate assistance and responds before the time limit expires, the client may:
- Confirm the accuracy of the information received;
- Demonstrate that the information received is inaccurate;
- Be unable to demonstrate that the information received is inaccurate.
Confirm the accuracy of the information
The officer sends a notice of termination or reduction of assistance to the client when information is received from a third party.
When the client takes possession of the notice and confirms the accuracy of the information received from the third party, the officer collects the client's documents or detailed statement.
The officer will then reassess the person's eligibility for assistance and provide a decision, even if the notice period has not expired.
If applicable, a claim may be established upon receipt of the information or documentation provided by the client.
Demonstrates that the information is inaccurate
When the client takes possession of the notice before the 10-day period expires and demonstrates that the information that led to the notice is inaccurate, the officer will continue to pay the assistance.
Cannot show that the information is inaccurate
When the client takes possession of the notice and cannot demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the information received is inaccurate, the officer sends a notice of decision informing the client that their benefit is being terminated or reduced.
CLIENTS DOES NOT TAKE possession of the notice
When the officer receives notice by return mail that the client has not taken possession of the notice, the officer will call the client to the office. At the meeting, the notice will be hand-delivered and any comments will be placed in the agent's file.
If the person attends the meeting, the officer will reassess the person's eligibility in light of the additional information provided by the person. The file is then processed as if the person had taken possession of the notice and contacted the officer within the time limit.
Otherwise, one of the following situations will apply:
- Assistance is reduced when the amount of the resource is known;
- The assistance is cancelled for refusal to provide the required information or documents.
A claim is then possible depending on the outcome of the processing.
Moving
When the information received from a third party is related to a move, the file is cancelled at the end of the delay.
Incarceration
If the information received from a third party concerns incarceration and the person is a single adult, the file is cancelled at the end of the time limit.
The client contacts the agent the month following the termination or reduction
When the client takes possession of the notice of termination or reduction of assistance, and responds in the month following the month of termination or reduction, the client must demonstrate that they were unable to act earlier, in order to have their case reassessed. If assistance has been terminated, the applicant must reapply for financial assistance.
Demonstrated inability to act
When the client demonstrates that they were unable to act earlier, their case is reassessed:
- If she proves that the officer's information is incorrect, assistance is reinstated based on the new information received;
- If she confirms that the information is correct, the decision is upheld;
- If it cannot prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the officer's information is inaccurate, the decision to cancel or reduce is upheld.
Inability to act not proven
When the client cannot demonstrate inability to act, the treatment varies depending on whether the assistance was cancelled or reduced.
Cancelled assistance
If assistance has been cancelled, the person must reapply, and the rules for cancellation are applied.
Reduced Assistance
If assistance has been reduced, the person has the opportunity to make representations to the officer:
- If the person proves that the officer's information is inaccurate, the assistance is reinstated for the next month, with no opportunity for feedback on previous months;
- If the person cannot prove by a preponderance of evidence that the officer's information is inaccurate, the decision to reduce assistance will stand.