Tribunal reinstates
grandmother’s benefits
CHRISTOPHER GULY
An Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal decision, released earlier
this year, has opened the door for
temporary caregivers to challenge
the cancellation of their benefits
by municipal social services
administrators, according to
Toronto lawyer Douglas Stewart,
who successfully argued the case
on behalf of the appellant.
The case involved a 74-year-old
Oshawa grandmother — the
unnamed appellant — who, with
her same-aged husband, had been
caring for their grandson, identified as D.V., since 1999. The boy’s
father has substance abuse problems, while D.V.’s mother has never
been involved in his life. In light of
that situation, the child’s grandparents obtained a custody agreement from his parents and applied
to Ontario Works for temporary
care assistance, which was granted.
However, in November 2008,
an Ontario Ministry of Commun-
ity and Social Services caseworker
informed the grandparents — both
on an annual income of about
$25,000 — that following a review
of their circumstances and eligi-
bility, they no longer qualified for
the allowance. (The benefits
included $230 per month and
drug and dental coverage for their
grandson.) Among the reasons
cited were that the arrangement
had “gone beyond being tempor-
ary to the extreme,” since D.V. had
been in the care of his grandpar-
ents for 11 years. The results of the
so-called consolidation verifica-
tion process review—a relatively
recent and more detailed assess-
ment of a recipient’s circum-
stances and eligibility — also
determined there was no “reason-
able prospect” the then-15-year-
old would be returning to the care
of either one of his parents, and
that all aspects of the grandpar-
ents’ relationship with him were
the same as those of parents.
ZACK BLANTON / ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
FORGOTTEN?
The SSAG Exceptions
ROLLIE
THOMPSON
So what is it? Is it that no one reads the Spousal
Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) beyond chapter 11?
That chapter 12 on exceptions somehow went missing
from everyone’s copy? How do we explain that, five years
after the release of the original draft proposal and almost
two years after the final version, lawyers and judges still
ignore the SSAG exceptions?
It remains one of the great mysteries of the SSAG so
far. The two formulas for amount and duration apply to
the wide range of “typical” spousal support cases. But, as
we all know, there are lots of atypical or unusual cases in
spousal support law, and the SSAG exceptions are
intended to recognize categories of cases where outcomes
can or should depart from the formula ranges.
How can you tell when an exception might apply?
First, when your family law intuition tells you that the for-
mula outcomes just don’t seem right — the amount is too
low or too high, or the duration too short. That gut feeling
should send you quickly to chapter 12, to root through the
list of exceptions. Second, if you lack that “intuition,” then
your antennae should go up when the opposing lawyer
really, really likes the formula outcomes.
In chapter 12, you will find this summary list of
exceptions:
( 1) Compelling financial circumstances in the interim
See SSAG Page 16
