The Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale often analyzes the bank accounts of social assistance recipients to verify, among other things, the existence of repetitive donations or a deficit budget. Here is an example of real events that illustrates this common situation.
A simple annual audit that becomes an investigation
On April 4, 2013, Ms. Suzanne Dorval (not her real name) was claimed an amount of $21,353.61 by the Ministère for deposits in her bank accountbetween January 1 , 2009 and November 30, 2012, social assistance having recorded the said deposits as donations.
The Department arrived at the claim as follows :
- In 2013, before proceeding with this claim, the Ministry asked Ms. Dorval to file her bank statements for the last 6 months.
- The officer who was to do an annual audit of Ms. Dorval’s file noticed deposits in her account.
- The officer asked him to explain every deposit of money in his account for the last 6 months.
- The officer also asked him for all of his account statements since his admission to social assistance, that is,since January 1 , 2009.
The Ministère claims all the deposits in Ms. Dorval’s bank account since her admission to social assistance, resulting in a claim of $21,353.61. Mrs. Dorval cannot believe her eyes and is demolished. She is a lady who has worked all her life, but who fell ill and ended up on welfare.
In addition, the Department’s claim is made without any table of the amounts recorded; Ms. Dorval is not even in a position to know what sums she must justify.
An infringement of the fundamental right to a full and complete defence
This is a recurring situation in our social assistance files: the Department fails to provide a calculation table, preventing our clients from having the right to a full and complete defence.
To be entitled to a full and complete defence, which is a Charter right, one must be able to understand the claim (charge) in order to provide explanations (defence). Imagine being asked to explain deposits in your bank account 5 years back. Would you be able?
According to Mr. Lambert, the Ministry has an obligation to provide a list of each amount recorded.
Success before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec
In Ms. Dorval’s case, the Department claimed all the deposits without seeking to understand the source of each deposit. Both in review and at trial, he was never able to justify to us how he managed to claim the amount of $21,353.61.
It was Mrs. Dorval who had to explain each deposit made in her bank account to demonstrate that these amounts should not be accounted for. These amounts included, but were:
- Loans from his mother that the Ministry refused to recognize, despite a register, repayment terms and proof of repayments;
- Cheques paid by Emploi Québec when he returns to school;
- Reimbursement of school books and travel expenses by Emploi Québec;
- GST and QST amounts;
- Family allowance cheques.
The Ministry’s representative even stated at the hearing that family allowances, as well as the GST and QST credit, should be counted as a gift.
Finally, the Tribunal allowed our action almost entirely by reducing the original claim from $21,353.61 to an amount of $1,430, which was equivalent to an amount received as a gift by Ms. Dorval, according to her own admission.
A lawyer does not work miracles, but he makes sure to protect your rights and prepare a case well. We have seen many people in distress over the years and are working hard to be the voice of the poor.
Do not hesitate to contact us to use our legal services if you have a social assistance claim.
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