Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability

Decision

[1] The Claimant is not entitled to a Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability pension.

Overview

[2] The Claimant was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2018 that was treated with chemotherapy and radiation. The Claimant’s breast cancer was successfully treated, she is in remission, but she has severe neuropathy from the chemotherapy and radiation treatments in her feet, legs, hands and arms as well as exhaustion/fatigue, shortness of breath and pain. The Minister received the Claimant’s application for the disability pension on December 27, 2018. The Minister denied the application initially and on reconsideration. The Claimant appealed the reconsideration decision to the Social Security Tribunal.

[3] To qualify for a CPP disability pension, the Claimant must meet the requirements that are set out in the CPP. More specifically, the Claimant must be found disabled as defined in the CPP on or before the end of the minimum qualifying period (MQP). The calculation of the MQP is based on the Claimant’s contributions to the CPP. I find the Claimant’s MQP to be December 31, 1997.

Issue(s)

[4] Did the Claimant’s conditions result in the Claimant having a severe disability, meaning incapable regularly of pursuing any substantially gainful occupation by December 31, 1997?

[5] If so, was the Claimant’s disability also long continued and of indefinite duration by December 31, 1997?

Analysis

[6] Disability is defined as a physical or mental disability that is severe and prolonged^{Note de bas de page 1}. A person is considered to have a severe disability if incapable regularly of pursuing any substantially gainful occupation. A disability is prolonged if it is likely to be long continued and of indefinite duration or is likely to result in death. A person must prove on a balance of probabilities their disability meets both parts of the test, which means if the Claimant meets only one part, the Claimant does not qualify for disability benefits.

Severe disability

The Claimant did not have a severe disability as of her MQP

[7] The Claimant was 57 years old at the time she applied for a CPP disability pension based on neuropathy from the chemotherapy and radiation treatment she received to treat her breast cancer in 2018. The Claimant’s MQP is December 31, 1997, over 20 years prior to her cancer treatment that caused her current health concerns.

[8] While I am sensitive to the Claimant’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment as well as the difficulties she has experienced as a result of the treatment, I am unable to find that the Claimant had a severe disability as of her MQP based on the evidence described below.

[9] The Claimant’s evidence at the hearing was that she did suffer from migraine headaches that seemed to improve after menopause. The Claimant described her migraines as coming out of the blue, feeling like a torch behind her right eye. The Claimant testified that the migraines started after the birth of her first child in 1977. When she had a headache she had to go into a dark room and fall asleep. She would feel unwell for a couple of days following her migraine. When the migraines were finally diagnosed by her doctor, she was given medication that she took for a number of years. The Claimant found that the medication worked and she still has it available although she only gets migraines about every other month now.

[10] The CPP Medical Report was completed by Dr. Kaladeen, dated December 13, 2018. Dr. Kaladeen indicated that he had been treating the Claimant for the past 5 years and he described her having post chemo neuropathy with a start date of April 2018 and end date of August 2018.^{Footnote 2} Dr. Kaladeen answered that he had not discussed stopping work with the Claimant but that he did not expect the Claimant to return to any type of work. There is no reference in the medical record to the Claimant’s migraines as of her MQP.

[11] The evidence does not establish that the Claimant had a severe disability as of her MQP and continuously thereafter.

[12] I must assess the severe part of the test in a real world context^{Footnote 3}. This means that when deciding whether a person’s disability is severe, I must keep in mind factors such as age, level of education, language proficiency, and past work and life experience. The Claimant was 36 years old as of her MQP. She had grade 10 education with factory experience working on the line at a show factory. The Claimant also raised her three children born in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The Claimant stopped working outside the home in 2011 and looked after her mother-in-law full-time who had dementia. The Claimant’s mother-in-law passed away around the time when the Claimant was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2018.

[13] The measure of whether a disability is “severe” is not whether the person suffers from severe impairments, but whether the disability prevents the person from earning a living. It’s not a question of whether a person is unable to perform their regular job, but rather the person’s inability to perform any substantially gainful work^{Footnote 4}. The evidence does not show that the Claimant had a severe disability as of her MQP or that she was unable to perform any substantially gainful work as of that date.

[14] I must assess the Claimant’s condition in its totality, which means I must consider all of the possible impairments, not just the biggest impairments or the main impairment^{Footnote 5}. The Claimant’s evidence of migraines prior to her MQP is insufficient to show that she had an impairment that prevented her from working.

[15] Where there is evidence of work capacity, a person must show that efforts at obtaining and maintaining employment have been unsuccessful because of the person’s health condition ^{Footnote 6}. The evidence is that the Claimant had capacity to work as of her MQP and continued to work for a number of years following her MQP.

[16] Based on the Claimant’s testimony and the evidence, I am unable to find that she had a severe disability as of her MQP and continuously thereafter. Having found that she did not have a severe disability, it is not necessary to consider whether the Claimant had a prolonged disability.

Conclusion

[17] The appeal is dismissed.