Canada ( Attorney General ) v. Andritsopoulos
T-1888-93
Reed J.
9/6/94
8 pp.
Application for judicial review of Veterans Appeal Board's decision respondent met service requirements of War Veterans Allowance Act -- Issue proper interpretation of amendments made to War Veterans Allowance Act; amendments removed resistance fighters from category of persons to whom benefits under Act would be payable -- Respondent filed application for benefits as resistance fighter in Greece -- When legislation changed, excluding resistance fighters as veterans, respondent's application not fully determined -- Under system with respect to payment of allowance, once application determined to meet requirements for granting of benefits, allowance would be paid, calculated from date application filed, not from date of decision -- Act, s. 6.1(1), making continued payment of allowances to resistance fighters possible only when allowance was being paid to individual, if individual's application for allowance had been finally determined and decision to grant allowance had been made -- Legislative text not ambiguous; at time legislation being passed by Parliament, unequivocally clear amendment intended to operate so as to deny benefits to all applicants whose applications had not been approved on or before March 2, 1992 -- Respondent's application allowed on March 25, 1993 -- Application allowed -- War Veterans Allowance Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. W-3, s. 6.1(1) (as enacted by S.C. 1992, c. 24, s. 10).