No appeal would be allowed to proceed until an internal review is requested and completed. A new Social Benefits Tribunal would be established to hear appeals, replacing the existing Social Assistance Review Board. Financial assistance could be provided on an interim basis to a person appealing a decision, if the Tribunal is satisfied that the person would suffer financial hardship during the time required to complete the review. Interim assistance would be recovered as an overpayment if the appeal is denied. Fraud Prevention and Control Welfare fraud can result from the use of false or multiple identities, or from the failure to disclose accurate information about income and assets.
Some people illegally collect benefits from more than one government program.
Welfare fraud can escape detection because of limits on the ability to exchange information between programs, levels of government and jurisdictions. When a person is convicted of welfare fraud, the conviction has no impact on his or her eligibility for assistance. The use of new identification verification technologies would be permitted with strict controls to prevent any misuse of the information. This would help distinguish between individuals with the same last name and birthday and those making false or multiple claims. It would help to protect the system for those who truly need it by preventing fraud and abuse.