The CTSSP is intended to contribute to meeting the needs of Thalidomide Survivors for the remainder of their lives so that they may age with dignity.

• A five-year time frame to apply to the CTSSP, beginning June 3, 2019 and ending June 3, 2024, for those individuals who believe they are a Thalidomide Survivor.  Individuals denied under the Government of Canada’s 1991 Extraordinary Assistance Plan (“EAP”) or the 2015 Thalidomide Survivors Contribution Program (“TSCP”) are also eligible to apply;
  
  
• A probability-based medical assessment process to determine if individuals are Thalidomide Survivors employing techniques utilized in other international Thalidomide Survivor programs;
  
  
• An increased initial ex gratia lump sum, tax-free payment of $250,000 for Survivors confirmed under the new CTSSP. Survivors already recognized under the former TSCP will receive a top up payment of $125,000 to equalize the ex gratia amount payable to all Survivors under the two programs.
  
  
• Ongoing annual tax-free payments to Thalidomide Survivors indexed at 2% per year for life based on each individual’s assessed level of disability;
  
  
• Access to an annual Extraordinary Medical Assistance Fund (“EMAF”) to help cover the costs of extraordinary health support costs of Thalidomide Survivors with needs such as specialized surgeries and home or vehicle adaptations that are not otherwise provided in provincial/territorial healthcare plans.
  
  
• An increase to the EMAF to $1 M per year, indexed at 2% per year, to account for an anticipated greater number of Confirmed Survivors.

No. Only living Canadian Thalidomide Survivors are eligible for financial support under this program.

Yes.

The deadline for unconfirmed claimants to submit a completed Step 1 – Preliminary Screening Application to the Administrator at the address below to the Administrator at the address below was postmarked by June 3, 2024 in order to be considered for assessment under the CTSSP.

CANADIAN THALIDOMIDE SURVIVORS SUPPORT PROGRAM

PO Box 507 STN B

Ottawa, ON

K1P 5P6

Email: info@tsspcanada.ca

FAX: 1-866-262-0816

Please note for those applications still in progress at any stage of the CTSSP application process at the time of the Application Deadline will have one year post the deadline to complete the application process, after which time the application review process will end.

The decision is relevant to those individuals:

• Who have been denied at Step 1 of the CTSSP program due to the date of birth criteria;
  
  
• Who did not apply to the CTSSP program because they understood their application would be denied in light of their date of birth falling outside the date of birth criteria; or
  
  
• Whose applications have been submitted at step 1 but have not yet received a result.

If you have submitted a Step 1 – Preliminary Screening Application and are awaiting a determination at Step 1, we are in the process of determining the impact of the decision and will continue to process your application.

If you are at Step 2 or at Step 3 of the CTSSP application process, then this decision is not relevant to you.

The Order in Council indicates that there are three criteria required to be eligible to advance from Step 1 to Step 2 of the CTSSP application process. The first two of those criteria include the consideration of date of birth. If you are an individual who was found not eligible at Step 1 due to the date of birth criteria (whether under Criteria 1 or Criteria 2), the Administrator accepted applications for Reconsideration at Step 1 up until the Application Deadline of June 3, 2024.

If you did not apply to the CTSSP based on the date of birth criteria, the Administrator accepted Step 1 Preliminary Screening Applications up until the Application Deadline of June 3, 2024.

You may contact the Administrator if you have questions about any of the forms or the program. You may also choose to have someone help you fill out the forms such as a family member, friend or a healthcare provider (e.g. family doctor, occupational therapist, naturopath, personal aide worker etc.).

You will receive confirmation of receipt of your application in writing. If you do not receive confirmation within 15 calendar days of sending it, please contact the Administrator to follow up.

Next, the Administrator, whose team includes medical practitioners, will review your application for completeness and eligibility.

To be eligible under the CTSSP:

• You must have been born in Canada;
  
  
• Your date of birth must coincide with maternal ingestion of Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy; and,
  
  
• The nature of your congenital malformations must be consistent with known characteristics of congenital malformations linked to Thalidomide.

If the CTSSP Administrator considers that it is likely, based upon the preliminary assessment in Step 1, that an individual’s congenital malformations are the result of maternal ingestion of Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy, the application will advance to Step 2.

The Administrator will review the answers that you provide in your Step 1 - Preliminary Screening Application along with any medical documentation that you submit with your application. The nature of your congenital malformations must be consistent with known characteristics of congenital malformations linked to Thalidomide based upon the best available scientific knowledge currently known about Thalidomide.

Subsequently, detailed responses to the questions in the Step 1 – Preliminary Screening Application are very important.

The Administrator anticipates being able to complete an initial review of all Step 1 applications within 30 calendar days of receipt. The initial review will verify that the application has been completed in full and that you were born in Canada as required in Step 1.

The Administrator will then review your Step 1 – Preliminary Screening Application responses to the questions pertaining to your birth Mother’s ingestion of Thalidomide and the information that you provide regarding the nature of your congenital injuries linked to Thalidomide. This part of the Step 1 – Preliminary Assessment review will take more time than the initial review given the amount of detail that may be provided.

We encourage you to provide detailed responses to all of the questions in the Step 1 – Preliminary Screening Application so that the Administrator has comprehensive information on which to base its decision.

If your application is incomplete, the Administrator will contact you for more information. Please note that for those who submitted their Step 1 application prior to the Application Deadline, additional time will be provided to provide any missing information which will be identified in the missing information letter sent to the Applicant.

The Administrator will notify you in writing of its decision at the contact information it has on file for you. Subsequently, it is important to keep the Administrator informed if you change any of your contact information.

If it is your preference to be contacted by email, please ensure that you add info@tsspcanada.ca to your email address book. The decision will provide a detailed explanation of how the Administrator made its determination.

Individuals who meet the Step 1 eligibility requirements will receive the Step 2 – Probability Assessment Application directly from the Administrator by their preferred method of delivery (email, mail or fax).

Your physician will need to complete the Step 2 - Probability Assessment Application for you as the Step 2 - Probability Assessment Application requires detailed medical responses to specific questions about your Thalidomide related injuries.

Once the completed application is received, it will be reviewed carefully by the Administrator.

The information provided at this step will be input into a diagnostic algorithm for Thalidomide embryopathy by qualified medical staff. The algorithm will harness the best available international science in understanding patterns of Thalidomide embryopathy. The algorithm will yield a probability based result on a three-point scale of the likelihood that your injuries are the result of maternal ingestion of Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy. It is not a definitive medical test, but a probability assessment.

The term “probable” is the highest point on a three-point scale of the algorithm which ranges from “unlikely” to “probable” that your injuries are the result of maternal ingestion of Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The Administrator anticipates that the Step 2 review will take longer than Step 1 because of the amount of detail required. The responses you provide at this stage will be input into a diagnostic algorithm by one medical practitioner and then reviewed by another to ensure that all pertinent information has been entered accurately.

If your application is incomplete, the Administrator will contact you for more information. Please note that for those who submitted their Step 2 application prior to the Application Deadline, additional time will be provided to provide any missing information which will be identified in the missing information letter sent to the Applicant.

It is anticipated that this step may take 60-90 calendar days or longer from receipt of a fully completed application to deliver the Administrator’s decision.

The algorithm will yield one of three (3) probability-based results on whether your injuries are the result of maternal ingestion of Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy. The results will be included as part of the package sent to the multi-disciplinary committee who will assess your file.

The diagnostic algorithm will assess the likelihood of an individual’s injuries being due to exposure to Thalidomide, through a series of questions and, based on the information provided in the Step 2 - Probability Assessment Application, will yield a probability result on a three point scale:

Unlikely – When the algorithm yields a probability result of “Unlikely”, it means that based on the data that was entered into the algorithm using the information submitted by the applicant with the CTSSP application to date, it is unlikely that the individual’s injuries are due to exposure to Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Uncertain – When the algorithm yields a probability result of “Uncertain”, it means that based on the data that was entered into the algorithm using the information submitted by the applicant with the CTSSP application to date, that it is unclear whether the individual’s injuries are due to exposure to Thalidomide in the first trimester of pregnancy. The algorithm requires further information from the applicant to enable the questions in the algorithm to be answered with a “Yes” or “No” answer rather than “Unclear”.

Probable - When the algorithm yields a probability result of “Probable/Possible”, it means that based on the data that was entered into the algorithm using the information submitted by the applicant with the CTSSP application to date, it is recommended that a detailed review be undertaken by qualified clinicians to verify the medical information provided. You may also be asked to provide additional information which may include scans, radiographs and genetic testing as well as information about your mother’s ingestion of Thalidomide, if available, to assist the Administrator in rendering its final decision as to whether the applicant is eligible for benefits under the CTSSP.

Once you have completed the Step 2 – Probability Assessment and the algorithm yields one of three (3) probability-based results, the Administrator will notify you in writing via the contact information it has on file for you. Subsequently, it is important to keep the Administrator informed if you change any of your contact information.

If you prefer to be contacted by email, please ensure that you add info@tsspcanada.ca to your email address book.

The decision will provide a detailed explanation of how the Administrator made its determination.

The Administrator accepted applications for Reconsideration at Step1 up until the Application Deadline of June 3, 2024.

Please note for those applications still in progress at any stage of the CTSSP application process at the time of the Application Deadline will have one year post the deadline to complete the application process, after which time the application review process will end.

At this step, a multidisciplinary committee of medical and legal experts will carefully consider the totality of the information related to your application from Steps 1 and 2 and any other evidence the committee considers relevant. This could include genetic test results and medical exams it may requisition, to formulate its recommendation to the Administrator that an individual is eligible for support under the CTSSP.

If tests are requisitioned by the committee, the Administrator will assist you in arranging for these tests to be completed. The cost of the tests will be covered by the CTSSP. More details about this Step will follow.

Claimants who proceed successfully through the assessment process will be eligible to receive benefits under the CTSSP. The Administrator will provide you with information about how to access the benefits under the CTSSP if a favourable determination is made at Step 3.