BCCPD has received the following notice:

September 24, 2013
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territory

Raise the Rates: 2nd Annual Welfare Food Challenge
Hungry for a Welfare Raise

Raise the Rates is inviting you to participate in the 2nd Annual Welfare Food Challenge. Starting on October 16, World Food Day, we are inviting British Columbians to eat only what they can purchase based on what welfare recipients receive for one week.

The event is to highlight the inadequacy of welfare rates in BC. A single person receives only $610 a month, stuck at this rate for over 6 years. Raise the Rates, with others, is working to raise public awareness of the extreme poverty of people on welfare and how this causes ill-health, stress and emotional harm. It also costs the people of BC billions of wasted dollars every year.

Taking place from Wednesday, October 16 to Tuesday, October 22, Welfare Food Challenge participants will be expected to live on only the food they can purchase with $26 dollars. This is based on the knowledge that welfare recipients have to pay for rent, bus tickets, phone calls and some hygiene out of their $610, and there is little money left for other expenses.

Last year’s Welfare Food Challenge was a success with over 130 people taking part across the province including families, school and university students, people in work and seniors. We gained good mainstream and social media coverage.

We also hope you will document and publicize your experiences. This could include:

• Writing blog posts for our website
• Posted directly to social media
• Attending a news conference and speaking to the media about the challenge.
• Sharing your experiences with your friends, family, community members, and policy makers.

If you would like to find out more about Raise the Rates or last years Welfare Food Challenge look at www.raisetherates.org and http://welfarefoodchallenge.org/.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/635990433089949
Twitter is: https://twitter.com/RaisetheRates

The issues of poverty and low income are of great concern and are garnering huge attention in BC. We hope that by continuing to push the government and raise public awareness about the inadequacy of welfare rates and the costs of poverty we will eventually see a change.

Thank you for considering taking the Welfare Food Challenge. Please contact Bill Hopwood at bill50@vcn.bc.ca or 604 738-1653 if you have any questions or would like to participate.

Sincerely,
Bill Hopwood
Raise the Rates, Organizer

At least 11% of the population, and over 15% of children, in BC are food insecure. (Household Food Insecurity in Canada, 2011)

BCCPD has received the following notice:

The Richmond Centre for Disability is hosting four free information sessions on the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) between August and October in Richmond and Vancouver. The RDSP is designed to help people with disabilities and their families save for the future.

Information Session Dates:

Saturday, August 17th from 2- 4p.m.
Richmond Centre for Disability
100-5671 No. 3 Road, across from the Lansdowne Sky Train Station

Saturday, September 7th from 1- 3p.m.
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
1607 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver – Chief Simon Baker Room

Saturday, September 14 from 1:30- 3:30p.m.
Carnegie Community Centre
401 Main Street, Vancouver – Classroom #2

Saturday, October 5 from 2- 4p.m.
Richmond Centre for Disability
100-5671 No. 3 Road, across from the Lansdowne Sky Train Station

For details or registration, please call Ella at 604-232-2404 or email her at ella@rcdrichmond.org

You can also visit the Richmond Centre for Disability’s website at: www.rcdrichmond.org

CHANGES TO THE CANADA PENSION PLAN DISABILITY APPEAL PROCESS

On April 1^st 2013, significant changes were enacted to the Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D) appeals process: the Review Tribunal and Pension Appeals Board were replaced by the Social Security Tribunal (SST). This represents a substantial change to the way in which CPP-D appeals will be administered.

The changes are too new for the BCCPD to fully determine how the SST system will work in practice. However, it seems clear that the SST’s rules are more legally complex and narrower than those governing the Review Tribunal.

Under the new system, CPP-D appellants no longer have an automatic right to have their cases heard. The SST has the power to summarily dismiss an appeal without a hearing if it determines the appeal has no reasonable chance of success. As well, the Tribunal can decide the merits of an appeal on the basis of written materials and is not obliged to hold an oral hearing.

This change clearly places a new burden on appellants who will need to provide well thought out and argued written arguments about the merits of their appeal when they file it. Appellants who can effectively articulate their position in writing will have a better chance of having their appeal favourably decided without a formal hearing.

An additional new challenge for appellants is that once they have advised the SST that they are ready to proceed with a hearing, they will not be permitted to file additional documents or submissions in support of their appeal. By contrast, the Review Tribunal would accept additional evidence and submissions up to and including the day of the hearing. Because of this change, it is even more crucial that appellants access all relevant documentation and perfect their submission before submitting their appeal.

BCCPD advocates are monitoring the new system closely and will provide community updates and capacity building workshops over the next year.

If you have any questions about the new SST system please contact Peter Beaudin or Robin Loxton at the BCCPD’s Advocacy Access Program at 604-872-1278 or 1-800-663-1278.

The following is information taken from the Social Security Tribunal’s web site:

http://www.canada.gc.ca/sst-tss/home-accueil-eng.html:

●          Decisions will no longer be made by a three member panel, but by a single adjudicator.

●          The SST has the power to summarily dismiss an appeal without a hearing if it determines the appeal has no reasonable chance of success. This places a new burden on appellants. Under the old system appellants had an automatic right to a hearing. Now appellants must provide enough information to show their appeal has a reasonable chance of success when they file their appeal. If the SST intends to summarily dismiss an appeal, it will advise the appellant of its intentions in writing and give its reasons. The SST will provide the parties with a chance to respond before making a final decision.

●          If an appeal is summarily dismissed, the appellant can file an appeal with the Appeals Division of the SST.

●          If an appeal is not summarily dismissed, the appellant will have up to one year to provide additional information. The SST will not proceed with an appeal until the parties have provided a Notice of Readiness to Proceed. Once this Notice is given, the SST will not accept any additional documents or information.  Under the previous system, new information could be provided on the day of the hearing.

●          After an Appellant has provided a Notice of Readiness, the SST will decide how it will proceed. It might hold an oral hearing. This can be done over the phone, in person, or by video conference.

●          If an oral hearing is held, the SST will not provide a translator. Appellants must make arrangements for a translator who will be required to swear they are proficient in the language of the Hearing. Unlike the previous Tribunal, the SST will not automatically reimburse appellants for costs associated with attendance at the hearing. Appellants must make a special application if they wish to be reimbursed for expenses.

●          The SST does not have to hold an oral hearing. It may write to the parties and ask them to provide written answers to questions it might have. After receiving a response the SST may make a decision based on the written record.

●          If a party is not satisfied with a decision they can seek leave to appeal to the SST’s Appeal Division. Unlike a summary dismissal decision, the right to appeal a formal decision is not automatic. The criteria that the Appeal Division uses are similar to the ones that the Pension Appeals Board used to apply. If leave to appeal is granted, the parties will have 45 days to provide any new information or argument. A Tribunal Member will then decide if a hearing is required or if a new decision can be made based on the written record.