10. The definitions in this section apply in this Part.

“base calendar year” means the last calendar year ending before the current payment period.

“current payment period” means the payment period in respect of which an application for a supplement is made by an applicant.

“previous payment period” means the payment period immediately before the current payment period.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 10; 1998, c. 21, s. 106.

11. (1) Subject to this Part and the regulations, for each month in any payment period, a monthly guaranteed income supplement may be paid to a pensioner.

(2) Subject to subsection (4), no supplement may be paid to a pensioner for a month in any payment period unless an application for payment of a supplement has been made by the pensioner and payment of the supplement for months in that year has been approved under this Part.

(3) Where an allowance ceases to be payable to a person by reason of that person having reached sixty-five years of age, the Minister may deem an application under subsection (2) to have been made by that person and approved, on the day on which the person reached that age.

(4) Where a supplement may be paid to a pensioner for the last month in a payment period, the Minister may waive the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement for any month or months in the following payment period.

(5) Where the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement for any month or months in a payment period has been waived under subsection (4) and an application is required for payment of a supplement for any subsequent month or months in that payment period, the Minister shall, not later than fifteen days before that subsequent month or the first of those subsequent months, notify the pensioner in writing that an application is required.

(6) Notwithstanding that the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement for any month or months has been waived under subsection (4), the Minister may require that the pensioner make an application for payment of a supplement for that month or for any of those months, and in such a case, the Minister shall, not later than fifteen days before that month or the first of those months, notify the pensioner in writing that an application is required.

(7) No supplement may be paid to a pensioner for

(a) any month that is more than eleven months before the month in which the application is received or is deemed to have been made or in which the requirement for an application has been waived, as the case may be;

(b) any month for which no pension may be paid to the pensioner;

(c) any month throughout which the pensioner is absent from Canada having commenced to be absent from Canada either before or after becoming a pensioner and having remained outside Canada before that month for six consecutive months, exclusive of the month in which the pensioner left Canada;

(d) any month throughout which the pensioner is not resident in Canada, having ceased to reside in Canada, either before or after becoming a pensioner, six months before the beginning of that month; or

(e) any month during which the pensioner is

(i) a specially qualified individual, and

(ii) a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in respect of whom an undertaking by a sponsor is in effect as provided in that Act and regulations under that Act.

(8) Paragraph (7)(e) does not apply to a pensioner where an event as provided by the regulations has occurred.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 11; 1995, c. 33, s. 5; 1996, c. 18, s. 51; 1998, c. 21, ss. 107, 119; 2000, c. 12, s. 209(E); 2001, c. 27, s. 264.

12. (1) The amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in the payment quarter commencing on April 1, 2005 is,

(a) in the case of a person other than a person described in paragraph (b), five hundred and sixty-two dollars and ninety-three cents, and

(b) in the case of a person who, on the day immediately before that payment quarter, had a spouse or common-law partner to whom a pension may be paid for any month in that payment quarter,

(i) in respect of any month in that payment quarter before the first month for which a pension may be paid to the spouse or common-law partner, five hundred and sixty-two dollars and ninety-three cents, and

(ii) in respect of any month in that payment quarter commencing with the first month for which a pension may be paid to the spouse or common-law partner, three hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-seven cents,

minus one dollar for each full two dollars of the pensioner’s monthly base income.

(1.1) The amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in the payment quarter commencing on January 1, 2006 is the amount of the supplement that would otherwise be payable plus

(a) eighteen dollars, in the case of a person described in paragraph (1)(a) or subparagraph (1)(b)(i); and

(b) fourteen dollars and fifty cents, in the case of a person described in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii).

(1.2) The amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in the payment quarter commencing on January 1, 2007 is the amount of the supplement that would otherwise be payable plus

(a) eighteen dollars, in the case of a person described in paragraph (1)(a) or subparagraph (1)(b)(i); and

(b) fourteen dollars and fifty cents, in the case of a person described subparagraph (1)(b)(ii).

(2) Subject to subsections (1.1) and (1.2), the amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in any payment quarter commencing after June 30, 2005 is the amount obtained by multiplying

(a) the maximum amount of the supplement that might have been paid to the pensioner for any month in the three-month period immediately before that payment quarter

by

(b) the ratio that the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter that relates to that payment quarter bears to the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter that relates to that payment quarter,

minus one dollar for each full two dollars of the pensioner’s monthly base income.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the maximum amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in a payment quarter shall be not less than the maximum amount of the supplement that was or may be paid to a pensioner for any month in the three month period immediately before that payment quarter.

(4) Where, in relation to any payment quarter, the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter is lower than the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter,

(a) no supplement adjustment shall be made pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of that payment quarter; and

(b) no supplement adjustment shall be made pursuant to that subsection in respect of any subsequent payment quarter until, in relation to a subsequent payment quarter, the Consumer Price Index for the first adjustment quarter that relates to that subsequent payment quarter is higher than the Consumer Price Index for the second adjustment quarter that relates to the payment quarter referred to in paragraph (a), in which case the second adjustment quarter that relates to the payment quarter referred to in that paragraph shall be deemed to be the second adjustment quarter that relates to that subsequent payment quarter.

(5) Despite subsection (2), the amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month after December 1997 is the amount determined by the formula

[(A - B) × C] - D/2

where

A is the aggregate of

(a) the maximum amount of the supplement that, but for this subsection, might have been paid to the pensioner for that month, and

(b) the amount of the full monthly pension;

B is the pensioner’s monthly pension;

C is the pensioner’s special qualifying factor for the month; and

D is the pensioner’s monthly base income rounded, where it is not a multiple of two dollars, to the next lower multiple of two dollars.

(5.1) Where the aggregate of the pensions and supplements payable for a month to two pensioners each of whom is the other’s spouse or common-law partner is less than the aggregate of the pension and supplement that would be payable for that month to one of them if the other were not a pensioner, the Minister may, notwithstanding subsection (2), pay to one of them for that month

(a) the amount of supplement that would be payable for that month to that pensioner, if the other were not a pensioner,

minus

(b) the aggregate of the pension and supplement payable for that month to the other.

(6) In this section, “monthly base income” means, in relation to the calculation of the supplement for a month in any given payment quarter,

(a) in the case of a person other than an applicant described in paragraph (b) or (c), one-twelfth of the income of that person for the base calendar year;

(b) in the case of an applicant who, on the day immediately before the current payment period, was the spouse or common-law partner of a person to whom no pension may be paid for any month in the current payment period, the amount determined by the formula

A/24 - B/2

where

A is the aggregate of the incomes of the applicant and the spouse or common-law partner for the base calendar year, and

B is the product

(i) obtained by multiplying the amount of the full monthly pension that might have been paid to a pensioner for any month by the applicant’s special qualifying factor for the month, and

(ii) rounded, where that product is not a multiple of four dollars, to the next higher multiple of four dollars; and

(c) in the case of an applicant who, on the day immediately before the current payment period, was the spouse or common-law partner of a person to whom a pension may be paid for any month in the payment period,

(i) in respect of any month in the current payment period before the first month for which a pension may be paid to the spouse or common-law partner, the amount determined for the applicant for the month under paragraph (b), and

(ii) in respect of any month in that payment period commencing with the first month for which a pension may be paid to the spouse or common-law partner, one twenty-fourth of the aggregate of the incomes of the applicant and the spouse or common-law partner for the base calendar year.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 12; 1996, c. 18, s. 52; 1998, c. 21, ss. 108, 119; 1999, c. 22, s. 88; 2000, c. 12, s. 207; 2005, c. 30, s. 136.

13. For the purposes of determining the amount of supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for a month before July 1, 1999, the income for a calendar year of a person or an applicant is the income of that person or applicant for that year computed in accordance with the Income Tax Act, except that

(a) there shall be deducted from the person’s or applicant’s income from office or employment for that year

(i) a single amount in respect of all offices and employments of that person or applicant equal to the lesser of five hundred dollars and one fifth of the person’s or applicant’s income from office or employment for that year,

(ii) the amount of employee’s premiums paid by the person or applicant during the year under the Employment Insurance Act, and

(iii) the amount of employee’s contributions made by the person or applicant during the year under the Canada Pension Plan or a provincial pension plan as defined in section 3 of that Act;

(b) there shall be deducted from the person’s or applicant’s self-employed earnings for that year the amount of contributions made in respect of those self-employed earnings by the person or applicant during the year under the Canada Pension Plan or a provincial pension plan as defined in section 3 of that Act; and

(c) there shall be deducted from the person’s or applicant’s income for that year, to the extent that those amounts have been included in computing that income,

(i) the amount of any benefit under this Act and the amount of any similar payment under a law of a provincial legislature,

(ii) the amount of any allowance under the Family Allowances Act and the amount of any similar payment under a law of a provincial legislature,

(iii) the amount of any death benefit under the Canada Pension Plan or a provincial pension plan as defined in section 3 of that Act,

(iv) the amount of any grant under a program that is a prescribed program of the Government of Canada relating to home insulation or energy conversion for the purposes of paragraphs 12(1)(u) and 56(1)(s) of the Income Tax Act, and

(v) the amount of any social assistance payment made on the basis of a means, a needs or an income test by a registered charity as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act or under a program provided for by an Act of Parliament or a provincial legislature that is neither a program prescribed under the Income Tax Act nor a program under which the amounts referred to in subparagraph (i) are paid.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 13; 1990, c. 39, s. 57; 1996, c. 23, s. 187; 1998, c. 21, s. 109; 1999, c. 31, s. 246(F).

14. (1) Every person by whom an application for a supplement in respect of a current payment period is made shall, in the application, make a statement of the person’s income for the base calendar year.

(1.1) Where the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement for any month has been waived under subsection 11(4), the Minister may, on the basis of the information available to the Minister,

(a) estimate the applicant’s income for the base calendar year; and

(b) in the case of an applicant who is a person described in subsection 15(2), estimate the income of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner for the base calendar year.

(1.2) Where a person’s income for a base calendar year has been estimated under subsection (1.1), the Minister may require that the person make a statement to the Minister of their income for any month in that year.

(2) Where in a current payment period a person who is an applicant, or who is an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner who has filed a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a), ceases to hold an office or employment or ceases to carry on a business, that person may, not later than the end of the payment period immediately after the current payment period, in addition to making the statement of income required by subsection (1) in the case of the applicant or in addition to filing a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a) in the case of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, file a statement of the person’s estimated income, other than the estimated income from that office or employment or from that business, as the case may be, for the calendar year in which the person ceased to hold that office or employment or ceased to carry on that business, in which case the person’s income for the base calendar year shall be calculated as the total of

(a) the person’s income for that calendar year, calculated as though the person had no income from that office or employment or from that business, as the case may be, and no pension income for that calendar year, and

(b) any pension income received by the person in that part of that calendar year that is after the month in which the person ceased to hold that office or employment or ceased to carry on that business, divided by the number of months in that part of that calendar year and multiplied by 12.

(3) Despite subsection (2), where in the last month of a calendar year that ends in the current payment period a person who is an applicant, or who is an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner who has filed a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a), ceases to hold an office or employment or ceases to carry on a business, the person may, not later than the end of the payment period immediately after the current payment period, in addition to making the statement of income required by subsection (1) in the case of the applicant or in addition to filing a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a) in the case of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year immediately after the month in which the person ceased to hold that office or employment or ceased to carry on that business, in which case the person’s income for that calendar year is deemed to be the person’s income for the base calendar year.

(4) Where in a current payment period a person who is an applicant, or who is an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner who has filed a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a), suffers a loss of income due to termination or reduction of pension income, the person may, not later than the end of the payment period immediately after the current payment period, in addition to making the statement of income required by subsection (1) in the case of the applicant or in addition to filing a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a) in the case of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year in which the loss is suffered, other than pension income received by that person in that part of that calendar year that is before the month in which the loss is suffered, in which case the person’s income for the base calendar year shall be calculated as the total of

(a) the person’s income for that calendar year, calculated as though the person had no pension income for that calendar year, and

(b) any pension income received by the person in that part of that calendar year that is after the month immediately before the month in which the loss is suffered, divided by the number of months in that part of that calendar year and multiplied by 12.

(5) Where, in the circumstances described in paragraphs (a) and (b), a person who is an applicant, or who is an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner who has filed a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a), ceases to hold an office or employment or ceases to carry on a business, the person may, not later than the end of the current payment period, in addition to making the statement of income required by subsection (1) in the case of the applicant or in addition to filing a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a) in the case of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner,

(a) where the person ceases to hold that office or employment or to carry on that business in the last calendar year ending before the payment period, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year ending in the current payment period, in which case the person’s income for that calendar year is deemed to be the person’s income for the base calendar year; and

(b) where the person ceases to hold that office or employment or to carry on that business in a month that is before the payment period and after the last calendar year ending before the payment period, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year ending in the current payment period showing also any income actually received by the person in that calendar year from that office or employment or from that business, as the case may be, in which case the person’s income for the base calendar year shall be calculated as the total of

(i) the person’s income for that calendar year, calculated as though the person had no income from that office or employment or from that business, as the case may be, and no pension income for that calendar year, and

(ii) any pension income received by the person in that part of that calendar year that is after the month in which the person ceases to hold that office or employment or to carry on that business, divided by the number of months in that part of that calendar year and multiplied by 12.

(6) Where, in the circumstances described in paragraphs (a) and (b), a person who is an applicant, or who is an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner who has filed a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a), suffers a loss of income due to termination or reduction of pension income, the person may, not later than the end of the current payment period, in addition to making the statement of income required by subsection (1) in the case of the applicant or in addition to filing a statement as described in paragraph 15(2)(a) in the case of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner,

(a) where the loss is suffered in the last calendar year ending before the payment period, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year ending in the current payment period, in which case the person’s income for that calendar year is deemed to be the person’s income for the base calendar year; and

(b) where the loss is suffered in a month that is before the payment period and after the last calendar year ending before the payment period, file a statement of the person’s estimated income for the calendar year ending in the current payment period showing also the amount of pension income actually received by the person in that part of that calendar year that is before the month in which the loss is suffered, in which case the person’s income for the base calendar year shall be calculated as the total of

(i) the person’s income for that calendar year, calculated as though the person had no pension income for that calendar year, and

(ii) any pension income received by the person in that part of that calendar year that is after the month immediately before the month in which the loss is suffered, divided by the number of months in that part of that calendar year and multiplied by 12.

(7) Where under subsection (2), (3) or (4) a statement of estimated income is filed by an applicant or an applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, no supplement calculated on the basis of that statement may be paid to the applicant for any month in the current payment period before

(a) the month immediately following the month shown in the statement as the month in which the applicant or the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, as the case may be, ceased to hold the office or employment or ceased to carry on the business, or

(b) the month shown in the statement as the month in which the applicant or the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, as the case may be, suffered the loss of income due to termination or reduction of pension income,

whichever is applicable.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 14; 1995, c. 33, s. 6; 1998, c. 21, ss. 110, 119; 2000, c. 12, s. 207.

15. (1) Every person by whom an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period is made shall, in the application, state whether the person has or had a spouse or common-law partner at any time during the payment period or in the month before the first month of the payment period, and, if so, the name and address of the spouse or common-law partner and whether, to the person’s knowledge, the spouse or common-law partner is a pensioner.

(1.1) Where the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement for any month has been waived under subsection 11(4) and the person to whom the supplement is paid did not have a spouse or common-law partner immediately before the previous payment period but has a spouse or common-law partner immediately before the current payment period, the person shall notify the Minister without delay of the date of that change, the name and address of the spouse or common-law partner and whether, to the person’s knowledge, the spouse or common-law partner is a pensioner.

(2) Subject to subsections (3), (4.1) and (4.2), where a person makes an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period and the person has or had a spouse or common-law partner at any time during the payment period or in the month before the first month of the payment period, the application shall not be considered or dealt with until such time as

(a) the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner files a statement in prescribed form of the spouse’s or common-law partner’s income for the base calendar year;

(b) an application for a supplement in respect of the current payment period is received from the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner; or

(c) the income of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner for the base calendar year is estimated under subsection 14(1.1).

(3) Where an application for a supplement in respect of any payment period has been made by a person, the Minister may, after any investigation of the circumstances that the Minister considers necessary, direct that the application be considered and dealt with as though the person did not have a spouse or common-law partner on the last day of the previous payment period, in any case where

(a) no application or statement as described in subsection (2) has been filed by or received from the spouse or common-law partner of the person and no estimate of the income of the spouse or common-law partner of the person has been made under subsection 14(1.1); or

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the person, as a result of circumstances not attributable to the person or the spouse or common-law partner, was not living with the spouse or common-law partner in a dwelling maintained by the person or the spouse or common-law partner at the time the application was made.

(3.1) A direction made under subsection (3) in respect of a payment period is deemed to be a direction made in respect of every subsequent payment period, but the Minister may, after any investigation of the circumstances that the Minister considers necessary, cancel the direction.

(4) [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 194]

(4.1) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 has been made by a person, the Minister, if satisfied that the person is separated from the person’s spouse, having been so separated for a continuous period of at least three months, exclusive of the month in which the spouses became separated, shall direct that the application be considered and dealt with as though the person had ceased to have a spouse at the end of the third such month.

(4.2) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 is made by a person who at any time in the payment period ceases to have a common-law partner otherwise than by reason of the common-law partner’s death, the supplement paid to the person, for any month in that payment period after the third month following the month in which the person ceased to have a common-law partner, shall be calculated as though the person did not have a common-law partner on the last day of the previous payment period.

(5) Where, after the Minister has made a direction under subsection (3) with respect to an application for a supplement made in respect of a payment period that ends before July 1, 1999, a statement or application as described in subsection (2) is filed by or received from the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, the Minister may review the direction previously made and direct that any supplement paid to the applicant or the spouse or common-law partner for any month in that payment period after the month in which the review is made be calculated either on the basis that the applicant and the spouse or common-law partner were spouses or common-law partners of each other on the last day of the previous payment period or as though they had not been spouses or common-law partners on that day, according as the direction may specify.

(5.1) Where, after the Minister has made a direction under subsection (3) based on paragraph (3)(a), with respect to an application for a supplement made in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 and a statement or application as described in subsection (2) is filed by or received from the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, the Minister shall review the direction previously made and shall direct that any supplement paid to the applicant or the spouse or common-law partner for months in that payment period after the month in which the review is completed be calculated on the basis that the applicant and the spouse or common-law partner were spouses or common-law partners of each other on the last day of the previous payment period, unless there is some other reason for a direction to be made under subsection (3).

(6) [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 194]

(6.1) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 is made by

(a) a person who did not have a spouse or common-law partner immediately before a particular month in the payment period but has a spouse or common-law partner at the end of that month,

(b) a person in respect of whom a direction is made under subsection (3) based on paragraph (3)(b) who no longer meets the conditions set out in that paragraph, or

(c) a person described in subsection (4.1) who ceases to be separated from the person’s spouse,

the calculation of the supplement shall be made, for any month after the month in which the person began to have a spouse or common-law partner, as though the person had a spouse or common-law partner on the last day of the previous payment period.

(7) [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 194]

(7.1) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 is made by a person who at any time in the payment period ceases to have a spouse, the supplement paid to the person, for any month in that payment period after the month in which the person ceased to have a spouse, shall be calculated as though the person did not have a spouse on the last day of the previous payment period.

(7.2) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 is made by a person who at any time in the payment period ceases to have a common-law partner by reason of the common-law partner’s death, the supplement paid to the person, for any month in that payment period after the month in which the common-law partner died, shall be calculated as though the person did not have a common-law partner on the last day of the previous payment period.

(8) Nothing in subsections (6.1) to (7.2) shall be construed as limiting or restricting the authority of the Minister to make a direction under subsections (3) to (5.1).

(9) Every applicant shall inform the Minister without delay if they separate from, or cease to have, a spouse or common-law partner, or if they had a spouse or common-law partner at the beginning of a month, not having had a spouse or common-law partner at the beginning of the previous month.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 15; 1995, c. 33, s. 7; 1998, c. 21, s. 111; 2000, c. 12, ss. 194, 207.

16. (1) The Minister shall, without delay after receiving an application for payment of a supplement under subsection 11(2) or after waiving the requirement for an application for payment of a supplement under subsection 11(4), as the case may be, consider whether the applicant is entitled to be paid a supplement, and may approve payment of a supplement and fix the amount of the supplement, or may determine that no supplement may be paid.

(2) Where particulars of the basis on which the amount of any supplement that may be paid to an applicant was fixed by the Minister are requested by the applicant or where the Minister determines that no supplement may be paid to the applicant, the Minister shall forthwith in writing notify the applicant of the basis on which that amount was fixed or of the decision that no supplement may be paid to the applicant and the Minister’s reasons therefor, as the case may be.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 16; 1995, c. 33, s. 8.

17. Payment of a supplement for any month shall be made in arrears at the end of the month, except that where payment of a supplement in respect of months in any payment period is approved after the end of the month for which the first payment of the supplement may be made, payments of the supplement for the month in which payment of the supplement is approved and for months before that month may be made at the end of that month or at the end of the month immediately after that month.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 17; 1998, c. 21, s. 112(E).

18. Where it is determined that the income for a base calendar year (in this section referred to as the “actual income”) of an applicant for a supplement does not accord with the income of the applicant (in this section referred to as the “shown income”) calculated on the basis of a statement or an estimate made under section 14, the following adjustments shall be made:

(a) if the actual income exceeds the shown income, any amount by which the supplement paid to the applicant for months in the payment period exceeds the supplement that would have been paid to the applicant for those months if the shown income had been equal to the actual income shall be deducted and retained out of any subsequent payments of supplement or pension made to the applicant, in any manner that may be prescribed; and

(b) if the shown income exceeds the actual income, there shall be paid to the applicant any amount by which the supplement that would have been paid to the applicant for months in the payment period if the actual income had been equal to the shown income exceeds the supplement paid to the applicant for those months.

R.S., 1985, c. O-9, s. 18; 1995, c. 33, s. 9; 1998, c. 21, s. 113.