What do I do when provincial criteria and program descriptions have different information?

Sometimes a program description and provincial eligibility can have differing or conflicting instruction. Some examples are:

• Provincial criteria lists a document and the description doesn't (or vice-versa);
• The description has an earlier Due By date than the criteria for a document

Regardless of the situation, when an applicants asks what to do in these situations we have to recognise that there is no "one size fits all" approach. We need to think about what route will ensure the applicant is not penalised in that particular situation. In addition, we as a service organisation may be required to clarify the information on their behalf.

For example, if a province indicates that they require document X by the rank order list submission period but the program asks for all documentation by the file review period, the appropriate council would be to guide the client to respect the program ask, with the rationale being that they are the first "gate keeper" in the process and without that document their file would be considered incomplete.

However, in another example, if the provincial criteria lists document Y as a requirement but the program does not list it, we must act on behalf of the client and contact the program for clarification. Based on this discussion, we can close the loop with the client but we may have additional follow-up actions, such as getting the program description updated or informing the client base of a new program requirement.

This is a situation where consulting with your colleagues prior to response is appropriate if you are unsure of how to proceed.