Section 21.1 — Old Age Security Act: Allowance not payable

Despite section 21, an allowance under that section is not payable to an individual who otherwise would have been entitled to receive such an allowance as a result of the death of their spouse or common-law partner if the Minister is informed and satisfied that the individual has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of that spouse or common-law partner. If the Minister is informed and satisfied that an individual’s conviction for first or second degree murder or manslaughter of their spouse or common-law partner has been reversed, the charges have been withdrawn or the proceedings were stayed and not recommenced within the required time period and that all rights of appeal have been exhausted, the individual’s entitlement to the allowance to which they would otherwise have been entitled under section 21 becomes payable in accordance with that section as if subsection (1) had never applied and any amount recovered from the person shall be repaid. If an individual has been convicted by a court outside Canada in respect of an offence that, if it had been committed in Canada, would have constituted first or second degree murder or manslaughter, the Minister may deem that conviction to be a conviction of first or second degree murder or manslaughter for the purposes of this section. A person who has received an allowance referred to in this section and in respect of whom the Minister is subsequently informed and satisfied that he or she has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of their spouse or common-law partner whose death would otherwise have resulted in the individual having been entitled to that allowance shall be deemed not to have been entitled to receive such an allowance, which shall constitute a debt due to Her Majesty under section 37 and the Minister shall recover those amounts, including any amounts paid before the date of the individual’s conviction. For greater certainty, this section applies in respect of any first or second degree murder or manslaughter conviction of which the Minister is informed before, on or after the coming into force of this section. For the purpose of this section, first or second degree murder means murder within the meaning of section 231 of the Criminal Code . For the purpose of this section, manslaughter means manslaughter within the meaning of the Criminal Code . This section does not apply to an individual who is convicted of manslaughter if the individual is released on the conditions prescribed in a probation order under paragraph 731(1)(a) of the Criminal Code .