Veterans Well-being Act (S.C. 2005, c. 21)

Marginal note:Suspension or cancellation

36 The Minister may suspend the payment of a Canadian Forces income support benefit or cancel the benefit, in the prescribed circumstances.

Marginal note:Amount of benefit

• 37 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the amount of the Canadian Forces income support benefit payable under sections 27 to 31 for each month in a current payment period shall be determined by the formula

  A - B - C

  where

  A

  is

  • (a) in the case of a veteran, the sum of the applicable amounts set out in column 2 of items 1 to 3 of Schedule 1,

  • (b) in the case of a survivor, the amount set out in column 2 of item 4 of Schedule 1, and

  • (c) in the case of an orphan, the amount set out in column 2 of item 5 of Schedule 1;

  B

  is

  • (a) in the case of a veteran, 1/12 of the income of the veteran and the veteran’s spouse or common-law partner, if any, for the base calendar year,

  • (b) in the case of a survivor, 1/12 of the survivor’s income for the base calendar year, and

  • (c) in the case of an orphan, 1/12 of the orphan’s income for the base calendar year; and

  C

  is

  • (a) in the case of a veteran, the total of the current monthly benefits payable to the veteran and the veteran’s spouse or common-law partner, if any, from prescribed sources,

  • (b) in the case of a survivor, the total of the current monthly benefits payable to the survivor from prescribed sources, and

  • (c) in the case of an orphan, the total of the current monthly benefits payable to the orphan from prescribed sources.

• Marginal note:Veteran couples

  (2) If the spouses or common-law partners are both veterans to whom a Canadian Forces income support benefit is payable, the following rules apply in respect of each veteran:

  • (a) the value of A in subsection (1) is the sum of

    • (i) the amount set out in column 2 of item 1 of Schedule 1, and

    • (ii) in respect of each dependent child of the veteran, and each dependent child of the veteran’s spouse or common-law partner who is not a dependent child of the veteran, 1/2 of the amount set out in column 2 of item 3 of Schedule 1;

  • (b) the value of B in subsection (1) is 1/24 of the income of the veteran and the veteran’s spouse or common-law partner for the base calendar year; and

  • (c) the value of C in subsection (1) is 1/2 of the total of the current monthly benefits payable to the veteran and the veteran’s spouse or common-law partner from prescribed sources.

38 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

39 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40.1 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40.2 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40.3 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40.4 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

40.5 [Repealed, 2017, c. 20, s. 275]

40.6 [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 137]

Regulations

Marginal note:Governor in Council

41 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) providing for the notification of the Minister, by persons who are entitled to an income replacement benefit or a Canadian Forces income support benefit, of any changes in income or benefits, or in an amount payable for a month from a prescribed source for the purposes of subsection 19(1), 19.1(1), 23(3) or 26.1(3), requiring the provision of statements of estimated income, benefits or amounts payable and providing for the effect of those changes on the calculation of the amount of the compensation payable;

• (b) respecting what constitutes a diminished earning capacity;

• (b.1) respecting the manner of determining whether a veteran has a diminished earning capacity that is due to a physical or a mental health problem;

• (b.2) respecting what constitutes a year of service in the Canadian Forces, for the purposes of subsections 19(3) and 23(5);

• (c) defining base calendar year, income and payment period for the purposes of section 37;

• (d) providing for the increase of any amount set out in column 2 of Schedule 1 in case of any increase in the amount of a pension or a supplement, as those terms are defined in section 2 of the Old Age Security Act, as a result of amendments to that Act;

• (e) respecting the payment of expenses arising out of a person’s participation in a rehabilitation plan or a vocational assistance plan; and

• (f) defining residence and defining intervals of absence from Canada that shall be deemed not to have interrupted residence in Canada for the purposes of sections 33 and 34.

• (g) [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 138]

PART 3Critical Injury, Pain and Suffering, Death and Detention

General

Marginal note:Non-application of this Part

42 This Part, other than sections 44.1, 44.2 and 56.6 to 56.8, does not apply in respect of an injury or a disease, or the aggravation of an injury or a disease, if the injury or disease, or the aggravation, is one for which a pension may be granted under the Pension Act.

Marginal note:Benefit of doubt

43 In making a decision under this Part or under section 84, the Minister and any person designated under section 67 shall

• (a) draw from the circumstances of the case, and any evidence presented to the Minister or person, every reasonable inference in favour of an applicant under this Part or under section 84;

• (b) accept any uncontradicted evidence presented to the Minister or the person, by the applicant, that the Minister or person considers to be credible in the circumstances; and

• (c) resolve in favour of the applicant any doubt, in the weighing of the evidence, as to whether the applicant has established a case.

Marginal note:Representation of applicant

44 In all proceedings under this Part, an applicant may be represented by a service bureau of a veterans’ organization or, at the applicant’s own expense, by any other representative of the applicant’s choice.

Critical Injury Benefit

Marginal note:Eligibility

• 44.1 (1) The Minister may, on application, pay a critical injury benefit to a member or veteran who establishes that they sustained one or more severe and traumatic injuries, or developed an acute disease, and that the injury or disease

  • (a) was a service-related injury or disease;

  • (b) was the result of a sudden and single incident that occurred after March 31, 2006; and

  • (c) immediately caused a severe impairment and severe interference in their quality of life.

• Marginal note:Factors to be considered

  (2) In deciding whether the impairment and the interference in the quality of life referred to in paragraph (1)(c) were severe, the Minister shall consider any prescribed factors.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) The Governor in Council may, for the purpose of subsection 44.1(1), make regulations respecting the determination of what constitutes a sudden and single incident.

Marginal note:Amount of benefit

44.2 The amount of the critical injury benefit that is payable to a member or veteran shall be the amount set out in column 2 of item 2.2 of Schedule 2.

44.3 [Repealed, 2017, c. 20, s. 277]

Pain and Suffering Compensation

Marginal note:Eligibility

• 45 (1) The Minister may, on application, pay pain and suffering compensation to a member or a veteran who establishes that they are suffering from a disability resulting from

  • (a) a service-related injury or disease; or

  • (b) a non-service-related injury or disease that was aggravated by service.

• Marginal note:Compensable fraction

  (2) Pain and suffering compensation may be paid under paragraph (1)(b) only in respect of that fraction of a disability, measured in fifths, that represents the extent to which the injury or disease was aggravated by service.

Marginal note:Consequential injury or disease

• 46 (1) For the purposes of subsection 45(1), an injury or a disease is deemed to be a service-related injury or disease if the injury or disease is, in whole or in part, a consequence of

  • (a) a service-related injury or disease;

  • (b) a non-service-related injury or disease that was aggravated by service;

  • (c) an injury or a disease that is itself a consequence of an injury or a disease described in paragraph (a) or (b); or

  • (d) an injury or a disease that is a consequence of an injury or a disease described in paragraph (c).

• Marginal note:Compensable fraction

  (2) If a disability results from an injury or a disease that is deemed to be a service-related injury or disease, pain and suffering compensation may be paid under subsection 45(1) only in respect of that fraction of the disability, measured in fifths, that represents the extent to which that injury or disease is a consequence of another injury or disease that is, or is deemed to be, a service-related injury or disease.

Marginal note:Loss of paired organ or limb

• 47 (1) The Minister may, on application, pay pain and suffering compensation to a member or a veteran who has been paid a disability award or pain and suffering compensation or to whom pain and suffering compensation is payable on account of the loss of, or the permanent loss of the use of, one of their paired organs or limbs if the member or veteran suffers, either before or after that loss or loss of use, the loss of, the permanent loss of the use of or the impairment of the other paired organ or limb from any cause whatever.

• Marginal note:Extent of disability

  (2) The member’s or veteran’s extent of disability in respect of that other paired organ or limb shall be considered to be 50% of the extent of disability at which the member or veteran would have been assessed if the loss of, the permanent loss of the use of or the impairment of that paired organ or limb had occurred in circumstances in which pain and suffering compensation would have been payable under section 45.

Marginal note:Increase in extent of disability

• 48 (1) If a member or a veteran who has been paid a disability award or pain and suffering compensation or to whom pain and suffering compensation is payable establishes that their extent of disability, for which a disability award or pain and suffering compensation was paid or is payable, has subsequently increased, the Minister may, on application, pay pain and suffering compensation to the member or veteran.

• Marginal note:Compensable fraction — aggravated by service

  (2) In the case of a non-service related injury or disease that was aggravated by service, pain and suffering compensation may be paid under subsection (1) only in respect of that fraction of the disability that has been determined in accordance with subsection 45(2).

• Marginal note:Compensable fraction — consequential injury or disease

  (3) In the case of an injury or a disease that is a consequence of another injury or disease, pain and suffering compensation may be paid under subsection (1) only in respect of that fraction of the disability that has been determined in accordance with subsection 46(2).

Marginal note:How extent of disability assessed

• 49 (1) The assessment of the extent of a disability shall be based on the instructions and a table of disabilities to be made by the Minister for the guidance of persons making those assessments.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (2) The instructions and table of disabilities are exempt from the application of sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Marginal note:Amount of pain and suffering compensation

• 50 (1) Subject to section 56.4, the monthly amount of pain and suffering compensation that is payable under section 45, 47 or 48 to a member or a veteran shall be determined by the formula

  A – B

  where

  A

  is the amount set out in column 3 of Schedule 3 that corresponds to the extent of disability, as set out in column 2 of that Schedule, that is the total of the member’s or veteran’s extent of disability for which a disability award has been paid or for which pain and suffering compensation is payable or has been paid as a lump sum; and

  B

  is the amount set out in column 3 of Schedule 3 that corresponds to the extent of disability, as set out in column 2 of that Schedule, that is the total of the member’s or veteran’s extent of disability for which a disability award has been paid or for which pain and suffering compensation has been paid as a lump sum.

• Marginal note:Fraction

  (2) For the purpose of determining the extent of disability in subsection (1), if a disability award or pain and suffering compensation was paid or may be paid only in respect of a fraction of a disability, then only that fraction of the disability shall be taken into account.