CUB 54294

In the Matter of an Appeal by the Claimant from the decision of a
Board of Referees given at Fredericton, New Brunswick on January 15, 2002

DECISION

Mr. Adams appeals from the decision of a Board of Referees dismissing his appeal from the Commission's refusal to antedate his claim for unemployment benefits from December 2 to June 24, 2001.

Mr. Adams retired from the Canadian Forces on May 31, 1996. In 2000 and 2001 he was employed as a school bus driver. When he retired from the Forces he inquired at the Commission office in Trenton, Ontario about the availability of unemployment benefits. He was told that he would not be entitled to benefits because he would be receiving a Canadian Forces pension. He was not told that if he re-entered the workforce he would, or might, be entitled to benefits.

In November 2001 he learned, during a casual conversation with a relative, that he was probably entitled to benefits. He then promptly made a claim.

An initial claim for benefits made after the day when the claimant was first qualified to make the claim shall be regarded as having been made on an earlier day if the claimant shows that the claimant qualified to receive benefits on the earlier day and that there was good cause for the delay throughout the period beginning on the earlier day and ending on the day when the initial claim was made.

The test is whether a claimant did what a reasonable and prudent person would have done in the circumstances to determine his rights, if any, under the employment insurance legislation.

The Board of Referees did not directly address the question of whether Mr. Adams had acted reasonably in failing to make proper inquiries throughout the period from June to December 2001. I will give the decision the Board of Referees should have given.

In the circumstance that Mr. Adams had made appropriate inquiries and received information at the time of his retirement, it was not unreasonable or imprudent for him to believe that he was not entitled to benefits and to refrain from making further inquiries after he re-entered the workforce.

The appeal is allowed and the matter is referred back to the Commission which will antedate Mr. Adams' claim.