• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Income Security Advocacy Centre

Income Security Advocacy Centre

ISAC works to address issues of income security and poverty in Ontario

  • Our Work
    • Litigation
    • Policy
    • Community Organizing
    • Public Education
  • Publications
  • Updates
  • Campaigns
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision & Mandate
    • Staff Members
    • Members
    • Board Members
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Share Your Story
  • Twitter

ODSP: The one-year limitation period for appealing to the Social Benefits Tribunal

September 9, 2014

Ms. Pavon was an ODSP recipient who accrued an overpayment due to an error by her ODSP worker. She requested an internal review more than one year after the decision. The Social Benefits Tribunal refused to hear her appeal on the basis that the one-year limitation period had passed.

ISAC appealed Ms. Pavon’s case to the Divisional Court, arguing that the “one year time period” for appealing starts to run from the date of the internal review decision – not the date of the original decision. ISAC also argued that human rights concerns must inform the way that the statute is interpreted. You can read our Factum by clicking here.

The appeal was heard on June 7, 2013. The Divisional Court granted Ms. Pavon’s appeal and confirmed that the timeline for appealing to the Social Benefits Tribunal is the date of the internal review decision, even if that decision is not made until more than one year has passed from the original decision.

The Divisional Court also confirmed the important role that human rights values must play when interpreting the Ontario Disability Support Program Act. The Court stated:

Further, given that by definition the very persons the statute is designed to support are persons with disabilities, I consider it axiomatic that the Act must be interpreted in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of disability and in a manner that recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to reasonable accommodation.  Where more than one interpretation of a provision is possible, the court should adopt the interpretation that accords with human rights and Charter values, rather than one that would undermine them. […]

A strict limitation period that allows for no individual accommodation can be as insurmountable an obstacle to equality for persons with some types of disabilities, as a flight of stairs is for a person using a wheelchair.

– March 29, 2016

Primary Sidebar

Blog sidebar

Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

Name

Income Security Advocacy Centre

Footer widget

1500 – 55 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
Tel: (416) 597-5820 • Toll Free: 1-866-245-4072 • Fax: (416) 597-5821

  • Contact

This site contains general legal information for people in Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem. ISAC is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization. ISAC is funded by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). The funding for this website is also provided by LAO. The views expressed in any of ISAC’s publications (including written, oral, or visual) are the views of the clinic and do not necessarily reflect those of LAO.