Bill No. 40 of 1953 A BILL TO AMEND THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC ~ -­ WELFARE ACT NoTE This Bill amends The Bureau of Public Welfare Act, being

chapter 21 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta, 1942. .. The Bureau of Public Welfare is being abolished and its . duties assumed by the Department of Public Welfare. The Office of Commissioner of Public Welfare is abolished and the Minister will assume those duties previously performed by the Commissioner. The long and

short titles of the Act are therefore amended accordingly.

Section 2 is amended. This

section has been redrafted and additional terms are defined therein. Also, certain terms which were either undefined or were defined in other sections throughout the Act have been brought under

section 2 and defined there. Sections 3 and 4 are repealed. These sections authorized the Bureau and its officers.

Section 5 is struck out and new sections substituted. The new

section 5 empowers the Minister to provide-material aid to persons in the Province who are not eligible for aid from any municipality.

Section 5a empowers the Minister to operate and maintain homes for the aged.

Section 5b empowers the Minister to operate and maintain training schools for wards of the Government.

Section 5c authorizes him to provide for instruction and training of poliomyelitis paralytics.

Section 6 is amended to remove the reference to the Com­ missioner and to refer to the Minister.

Section 7 which defined the duties of the Commissioner is repealed.

Section 9 is amended to refer to the Minister instead of the Bureau.

Section 11 is struck out and a new

section substituted. The new

section imposes an obligation upon municipalities to provide aid for their destitute residents who received material aid from the municipality while resident therein and who move from the municipality within a certain time thereafter. Subsection (2) provides a date from which a municipality may compute the time the last material aid was provided a person, and subsection (3) provides a rule for determining to what extent a recipient of certain social legislation benefits is a "self-supporting" person.

Section 12 is struck out and a new

section substituted which provides a new presumption of residence in the case of married persons.

Section 13 is struck out and a new

section substituted. The new

section requires a municipality, as a condition of receiving assistance to defray the cost of providing material aid, to obtain an application from any person who repre­ sents himself to be destitute and determine the need for aid, to provide adequate material aid for its destitute resi­ dents and to provide aid and forward the application for aid to the proper authority in cases of urgency where a non­ resident of the municipality is involved. Sections 14 and 16 are similarly amended to remove the reference to the Bureau and have reference made to the Department instead.

Section 17, subsection (2) is amended to refer to the Min­ ister instead of the Commissioner.

Section 20 is amended to refer to Department or Minister where the reference was previously to the Bureau or Com­ missioner.

Section 21 is amended to correct a reference and to extend its provisions to veterans of World War II.

Section 22 is amended to change a reference.

Section 27 is amended to bring up to date the references in this

section to provincial Acts.

Part II is struck out and a new

section 28 substituted therefor. This

section empowers the Minister with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, to make regulations. This Bill comes into force upon assent. J. W.RYAN, Acting Legislative Counsel. (This note does not form any part of the BiU but is offered in explanation of its 7Jrovisions.)

BILL No. 40 of 1958

An Act to amend The Bureau of Public Welfare Act (Assented to 1 1958) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Alberta, enacts as follows : 1. The Bureau of Public Welfare Act, being

chapter 21 of Revised Statutes of Alberta, 1942, is hereby amended. 2. The

long title is struck out and the following is sub- Long J~e stituted: "An Act respecting Public Welfare". amen

Section 1 is amended by striking out the words "Bureau secuodn dt of". amen e

Section 2 is struck out and the following is sub- secuodn da stituted: amen e "2.

In this ~ct, unless the context otherwise requires, ~lr~re­ " (a) 'adequate food allowance' meanS an allowance in "a.dqeuate money or its equivalent of such amount, having re- ~Yfo~ance" gard to the prices prevailing, as will make available food of such amount, as may from time to time be determined by order in council ; " (b) 'destitute employable person' means a person who is "deetttute for the time being unable to provide subsistence for ~.~:;~cr;~le himself and such dependants as he is under a legal obligation to support, and who is not permanently physically or mentally unfit to be gainfully employed but for whom no employment is available; "(c) 'Department' means the Department of Public Wei- "De~~m- fare; men "(d) 'horne' means a .building and its grounds operated "home" and maintained by the Department for the care of aged or infirm persons; "(e) 'material aid' means any food, fuel, clothing or "m!':terln.l shelter provided out of public funds and includes any aid money· paid to any destitute employable person out of public funds ; " (f) 'Minister' means Minister of Public Welfare ; "Minister'' "(g) 'municipality' means any city, town, village, rnun- ·•municipal· icipal district, improvement district and special area tty'' which accepts assistance in the form of a grant for material aid from Canada or the Province, and in- cludes in respect of an improvement district or

"public funds" "resident of a. municipa.\lty" "resident ot the Pro\•ince" "sett­supportlng person .. "subsistence" "training school' • "tra.nslent person'• "unemploy. ment r·eller work" Sections 8 a.nd 4 repea.led

Section 5 a.mended Assistance ..

New sections 6a, 5!1, 5o Homes !or aged or lnftrm Training schools • I 2 special area, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and in respect of any other municipality, the council of the municipality;, "(h) 'public funds' means moneys contributed by Can­ ada, the Province or by any municipality; " ( i) 'resident of a munici'Pality' means a resident of a municipality as determined under the provisions · of the appropriate municipal Act relating to indig­ ent persons ; "(j) 'resident of the Province' means a person not being a resident of a municipality who has resided within the boundaries of the Province for twelve months out of the immediately 'Preceding twenty-four months as a self-supporting person immediately before he applies for material aid; "(k) 'self-supporting person' means a person who is able to and does provide subsistence for himself and such dependants as he is under a legal obligation to sup­ port without applying for and receiving material aid or other assistance from public funds; "(l) 'subsistence' means the necessary resources to se­ cure food, fuel, clothing and shelter; "(m) 'training school' means a building and its grounds operated and maintained by the Department for the care and training of children who are wards of the G<>vernment pursuant to The Child Welfare Act; "(n) 'transient person' means a person who is not a resident of a municipality or of the Province; " ( o) 'unemployment relief work' means any work which has not been regularly provided for in the annual estimates of a municipality and whieh is not dis­ allowed by the Minister.". 5.

Sections 3 and 4 are repealed.

Section 5 is struck out and the following is substituted: "5. The Minister out of the moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose may provide material aid or other assistance for any person "(

a) who is destitute, and "(

b) who is "(

i) a transient person, or "(ii) a resident of the Province who is not a resident of a municipality. "5a. The Minister may acquire, maintain and operate homes and maintain therein persons who are aged or infirm. ·"5b. The Minister may acquire, maintain and operate training schools and maintain therein children who are wards of the Government under The Child Welfare Act.

3 "5c. The Minister may make such provision for the train- Nehablllta­ ing and instruction of persons suffering from paralysis on caused by poli9myelitis as he may consider to be in their best interests.".

Section 6 is amended by striking out the word "Com- secuodn 3 missioner" wherever it occurs and by substituting the word amen e "Minister".

Section 7 is repealed.

Section 7 repealed

Section 9 is amended by striking out the words "With ~~!~~~J the approval of the Minister, the Bureau of Public Welfare" and by substituting the words "The Minister" . . .

Section 11 is struck out and the following is sub- ~~!~~~J 1 sbtuted: "11.

(1) A municipality is responsible for the provision Responslbll- f t · 1 'd t lty of 0 rna erla al 0 a person munlclpllllt}• "(

a) who while a resident of the municipality receives material aid therefrom, or " (

b) who while a resident of the municipality moves from the municipality into another municipality "(

i) while receiving material aid therefrom, or "(ii) within twelve months after he last received ma- terial aid therefrom, and the provision of material aid shall continue to be the responsibility of the municipality until that person becomes a resident of another municipality within the meaning of this Act. "

(2) In determining whether a person has become a Determining 'd t f • • l't th • d f tw 1 t• residence res1 en o a mumc1pa 1 y e perw o eve consecu 1ve months referred to in clause (

i) of

section 2 shall be com- puted from the last day of the month in which the last issue of material aid was accepted by that person or by his spouse. "

(3) A person who receives any assistance pension al- Self-support-• ' ' lng pei'SOn lowance or compensation "(

a) under The Old Age Security Act (Canada), The Old . Age Assistance Act, The Blind Persons Act, The Widows' Pensions Act, The Mothers' Allowance Act or The Wo1·kmen's Compensation Act, 1948, or "(

b) in recognition of services performed by him, shall be deemed a self-supporting person to the extent of such assistance, pension, allowance or compensation.".

Section 12 is struck out and the following is sub- secuodn J2 ill~: ~e "12. Subject to compliance with any provisions in re- Residence spect of the length of time required for acquisition of resi- g~~~~rled dence in a municipality, a married man and his wife shall both be deemed to reside or have their home in the mun- icipality where the abode of their family or household is situate.".

Section 13 o.mended Conditions of recelvin:;­ aaalatan~e

Section H amended

Section 16 amended

Section 17 tlmended

Section ~11 amended

Section 21 amended

Section 22 amended 4

Section 13 is struck out and the following is sub­ stituted: "13. If assistance is afforded a municipality in defraying the cost of providing material aid, whether afforded by Canada or by Alberta or both, then the municipality, as a condition of receiving the assistance, shall "(

a) first obtain from any person who represents him­ self to be a destitute employable person an applica­ tion in writing on the form prescribed by the regula­ tions and thereupon determine the need for material aid; " (

b) provide adequate material aid in conformity with this Act for any destitute employable person who is a resident of the municipality; " (

c) in cases of urgent necessity "(

i) provide material aid for any deatitute employ­ able person living within the boundaries who is not a resident of the municipality, and "(ii) forward the written application to the ap­ propriate authority together with the written notice required by

section 14.".

Section 14 is amended by striking out the word "Bureau" wherever it occurs and by substituting the word "Department".

Section 16 is amended by striking out the word "Bureau" and by substituting the word "Department".

Section 17, subsection (2) is amended by striking out the word "Commissioner" and by substituting the word "Minister".

Section 20 is amended (

a) by striking out the word "Bureau" wherever it oc­ curs and by substituting the word "Department"; (

b) by striking out the word "Commissioner", where it occurs in clause (

d) of subsection (1), and by sub­ stituting the word "Minister".

Section 21 is amended (

a) by striking out the wo1·d "Bureau" wherever it oc­ curs and by substituting the word "Department"; (

b) by striking out the words "the Great War", where they occur in subsection (2), and by substituting the words "World War I or World War II"; (

c) by striking out the words "Expeditionary Force", where they occur in subsection (2), and by substitut­ ing the words "armed forces". 18

Section 22 is amended by striking out the word "Bureau" and by substituting the word "Department".

Section 27 is amended ~:;!:~dnef (

a) by adding immediately after the words "construed with" the words "The City Act, The County Act,"; (

b) by adding immediately after the words "The Town and Village Act," the figures "1952,". Sections 20. The heading "Part II" and sections 28 to 33 inclusive ~:P~f!t are struck out and the following is substituted:

section sa uns Th M. . h f h L. te t renumbered M • e mister, Wit the approval o t e 1eu nan Regulations Governor in Council, may make such regulations as may be deemed necessary for the proper carrying out of this Act and without limiting the generality of the foregoing may make regulations "(

a) relating to the admission of persons to a home or training school, " (

b) providing for the making of arrangements with the council of a municipality relating to the admission of persons to a home or training school, "(

c) providing for the' terms of admission to a home or training school of any person who is resident, within the meaning of the appropriate municipal Act, in a municipality with whom an arrangement has been made in respect of admissions to homes or training schools.". 21. This Act comes into force on the day upon which it f't111 ~ng iS aSSented to. II O orce

' No. 40 FIRST SESSION TWELFrH LEGISLA TIJRE 2 ELIZABETH II 1953 BILL

An Act to amend The Bureau of Public Welfare Act Received and read the First time ........... .......... ... .. ..... .... .. . Second time ....................... .. . Third time .......... . HON. MR. HALMRAST Title: 1953 (12th, 1st) Bill 40,

An Act to amend The Bureau of Public Welfare Act