Law360 Canada ( April 10, 2025, 1:11 PM EDT) -- Application by applicant for judicial review concerning his eligibility for a disability pension under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The applicant, a former journalist and university instructor, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and rheumatoid arthritis. He initially received disability payments from the Ontario Disability Support Program until age 65 and later applied for a CPP disability pension, which was approved in 1997. However, the Minister of Employment and Social Development reassessed his eligibility from May 2009 to June 2016, determining that he no longer had a “severe” and “prolonged” disability, and requested reimbursement of the CPP payments for that period. The applicant appealed the decision, arguing that the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal erred in its interpretation of “severe” disability and “substantially gainful” occupation. The Appeal Division had found that the applicant’s work as a parking attendant during the disputed years indicated he could pursue a substantially gainful occupation, thus disqualifying him from receiving CPP disability benefits. The applicant challenged the reasonableness of the Appeal Division’s decision on three grounds. He claimed that the Appeal Division did not properly approach the meaning of “severe” disability and misapplied the concept of “substantially gainful” occupation. He contended that the Appeal Division should have applied section 68.1 of the Canada Pension Plan Regulations retroactively to the years 2009 to 2013....