Widow takes feds to appeals tribunal over CPP benefits denial due to her age
OTTAWA — Daniel Derksen was, by all accounts, the model of perfect health.
Then one day, he complained about stomach pains and went to see a doctor. Four months later, he died, the result of an aggressive cancerous tumour that didn’t respond to chemotherapy, radiation or multiple surgeries.
He was just 38.
His wife of 11 years, Jilian, was denied survivor benefits through the Canada Pension Plan. She is now challenging the rule to the federal government’s final appeals body, the social security tribunal, arguing it is based on faulty logic.