CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION BOARD
Adjudicator: Evelyn J Baxter
Indexed as: (Re) 1707-02112
DECISION
Introduction
1The Applicant applied to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) seeking compensation for a death resulting from a crime of violence. The Applicant is seeking the following forms of compensation: bereavement counselling, funeral expenses and loss of financial support for herself and her children.
Decision
2In accordance with the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, RSO 1990, c.C24, as amended (CVCA), the CICB partially grants the Application. The reasons for this Decision follow below.
Hearing
3The Applicant appeared by teleconference and provided oral testimony, documentary evidence and submissions.
Evidence
4The Applicant testified that the Deceased Victim was her common law spouse and the father of her three children.
5The Applicant said the Deceased Victim was out with friends for his birthday in […]. She has no direct information regarding how her partner was killed except what she has heard or read in the media. The police refused to provide any information to her or the CICB for this application.
6The media reports describe a shooting occurred in the vicinity of the Deceased Victim’s location. The police were patrolling the area, and tried to stop a male suspect (Alleged Offender) who was fleeing the area. The other man who had been shot did not die from his injuries.
7While the Alleged Offender was being chased, another shot or shots were fired, resulting in the Applicant’s spouse being shot. When the police caught up to the Alleged Offender, a confrontation occurred, and several more shots were fired. The Alleged Offender was shot and killed during this exchange with the police. The Applicant’s spouse was also killed. It is not clear who fired the bullet that killed the Applicant’s spouse.
8The Special Investigations Unit became involved in determining the appropriateness of the police actions in this case, which may explain why no additional information was provided to the Applicant.
9The Applicant testified she got word of what happened, went to the hospital, but was not allowed to see her spouse. She was later told he had died, but still was not permitted to see him.
10According to the Applicant, the other man who was shot, was a friend of the Deceased Victim. The Alleged Offender had been in the same restaurant as the Deceased Victim and his friends. The Alleged Offender had been removed from the restaurant for some reason, and afterward, shot the Deceased Victim’s friend, thereby starting of the series of events that culminated in the Applicant’s spouse and the Alleged Offender being killed.
11The Applicant, in her Victim Impact Statement, noted she and the Deceased Victim had been together for 22 years. They had 3 children together. The eldest child, an adult, had been autistic since age three and required constant care and is not able to live on his own.
12The Applicant also said the Deceased Victim worked seasonally in the construction industry where he earned $1,000.00 per week, and in the winter, he stayed home with the children.
13The Applicant was asked to clarify what benefits and expenses she was receiving at the time of and since her spouse’s death. She said she did not qualify for death benefits, orphan benefits, WSIB benefits, or any other form of benefit or support given the seasonal nature of the Deceased Victim’s employment. She provided a copy of a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency stating she did not qualify for death benefits.
14The Applicant was questioned about life insurance, and she explained, and provided documentation that she received $157,853.84 and an additional $1,002.25 for accidental death insurance payout.
15The Applicant explained she moved and bought a house with the proceeds of the insurance payout because she and the children were having a hard time living in the home they shared with the Deceased Victim given all the memories they had there.
16The Applicant noted in her Financial Information Form she earned $2,500.00 per month and received an additional $1,890.00 per month in assistance for her eldest child. She did not provide any of her personal income tax returns, cheque stubs or bank statements to support any of the amounts provided. The information she provided related only to the Deceased Victim’s income.
17The Applicant testified she earned $47,700.00 per year, with a net monthly income of $2,300.00. She is employed full-time with Canada Revenue Agency in the mail room. The inconsistency between the Applicant’s Financial Information Form and her oral testimony was noted.
18She further testified she receives $640.00 per month in child tax credits, and $569.00 per month as a day care subsidy from the city where she lives. She also said her mother-in-law provides regular day care, including for her eldest son.
19The Applicant testified to the following monthly expenses:
Mortgage $1,000.00
Property tax $500.00
Household expenses $4,117.00
20The income tax returns provided show the Deceased Victim earned in the three years prior to his death the following amounts:
2014 $15,380.00
2015 $26, 561.00
2016 $37, 825.28
21Therefore, the Deceased Victim’s average income was $26,588.66. The CICB will consider 80% ($21,270.93) of that amount to determine the financial loss, if any, to the Applicant and/or her children in this case.
Analysis
Crime of Violence
22There was no conviction in respect of the incident, because it was still under investigation by the Special Investigations Unit, and no updates were available at the time of the hearing.
23Section 16(1) of the CVCA provides that compensation may be awarded whether or not a person has been prosecuted or convicted of the offence giving rise to the death.
24The Applicant is required to prove, on a balance of probabilities, not only that the Deceased Victim was a victim of a crime of violence but also that his death resulted from the crime.
25I find the Deceased Victim is a victim of a crime of violence because he was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire between the police and the Alleged Offender. At this time, there is no information before me to suggest any section 17(1) and (2) issues arise in this case.
26The CICB can therefore consider the Applicant’s claim for bereavement counselling, funeral expenses and loss of financial support for her and her children.
Compensation
27The Applicant must provide reliable evidence to support her claim for expenses actually and reasonably incurred as a result of the death her spouse pursuant to subsection 7(1)(a) of the CVCA.
Funeral Expenses
28With respect to funeral expenses, the Applicant noted her mother-in-law paid the funeral expense and had received funding from the Victim Quick Response Program to help with those costs. Therefore, the Applicant’s claim for funeral expenses is denied.
Bereavement Counselling
29The Applicant received $2,400.00 under section 14 of the Act on August 17, 2017 for bereavement counselling. She testified she had not used any of it at the time of her electronic hearing. In light of this evidence, I will not make an additional order for counselling. That amount is still available to her.
Loss of Financial Support
30The Applicant did not provide any documentary or other reliable evidence to show the extent of her dependence on the Deceased Victim’s income. She was asked to provide her income tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs and the like. At this time, I am not able to make an award of financial loss to her. However, this finding may be reviewed if she can provide sufficient evidence to support a claim for her financial loss.
31Next, based on the materials submitted to the CICB, I am satisfied the Applicant’s children have suffered loss of financial support as a result of the death of the Deceased Victim, their father.
32With respect to the Applicant’s eldest son, he is not a minor child, but he appears to be dependent on the Applicant, and his status as a dependent does not appear to be one that will change or improve as he ages.
33The CICB has considered statistics and information from Children’s’ Aid Societies, Canadian Council on Social Development and Federal Child Support Guidelines when arriving at the cost of raising a child. It is the CICB’s practice to consider the average cost of raising a child as $750.00 a month for one child.
34However, section 19(1) of the CVCA imposes upon the CICB certain limits as to the amount of compensation it can award in connection with the death of one victim. Section 19(1) reads as follows:
Maximum awards
19(1) The amount awarded by the Board to be paid in respect of the injury or death of one victim shall not exceed,
(a) in the case of lump sum payments, $25,000; and
(b) in the case of periodic payments, $1,000 per month,
and where both lump sum and periodic payments are awarded, the lump sum shall not exceed half of the maximum therefore prescribed in clause (a).
35Accordingly, the Board will award the Applicant a periodic payment of $1,000.00 a month to cover the ongoing childcare expenses of both minor children, and her dependent adult child, beginning on May 1, 2019, which is the maximum periodic award allowed per month under the CVCA.
36The payments will continue until each minor child reaches the age of 18. This amount will be reviewed on June 3, 2020 and again every two years to determine whether the payments shall continue or be varied.
37In the case of the adult child, once one or both of his siblings attain the age of 18, the periodic payments will have to be adjusted to ensure his financial loss calculation is taken into consideration in terms of the $1000.00 per month maximum.
38Also, to address the past periodic payments in the 22 month period from June 2017, the date the Applicant’s spouse died, to April 2019, the CICB will award a retroactive payment of $ 22,000.00 (22 months x $1000.00).
39Under section 17(3) of the CVCA, the CICB is required to take into consideration benefits received from other sources. The Applicant provided information to the Board CICB as to the monthly benefits that she receives for the children from the Universal Child Care Benefit and the Child Tax Credit. These are not benefits which the CICB will consider or deduct under the provisions of section 17(3) in this case, since they are benefits that she would receive for the children irrespective of their father’s death. The same would apply to the Applicant’s adult son who is in receipt of ODSP benefits.
40In the event the Applicant pursues a civil claim with respect to the death of her spouse it was explained to her she would have to inform the CICB if she recovers any award or settlement from a lawsuit. Section 26 of the CVCA states:
26(5.1) The Board is entitled to be reimbursed, out of any amount recovered by the applicant from the offender or any other party, for the amount of compensation awarded to the applicant.
Award
41The CICB orders compensation as follows:
Subsection 7(1)(a) Expenses – loss of support $ 22,000.00
Subsection 7(1)(a) Expenses (Section 14) Award $ 2, 400.00
Total Award (and Costs) $ 24,400.00
Less: Section 14 Award – already paid/authorized $ 2,400.00
Total Current Award $ 22,000.00
42Periodic payments of $1,000.00 per month are to be paid to the Applicant on the first day of each month, pursuant to Section 7(1)(a) of the CVCA effective May 1, 2019 subject to review by the CICB on June 3, 2020, and again every two years.
Payment
43The CICB orders the following be paid immediately to:
Applicant $ 22,000.00
Dated at Toronto on April 11, 2019.
Evelyn J. Baxter, Board Member