challenges for stateless persons who are without valid original birth documents from the country of their birth and have no way of collecting such documents from their country of birth. Finally, Quebec has its own pension plan separate from the CPP, the Quebec Pension Plan (“QPP”). It provides similar benefits and eligibility criteria as the CPP.432 h. Article 24(1)(b): Old Age Security Pension Old Age Security (“OAS”) is an additional social security program that provides a taxable pension benefit to Canadian citizens and some legal residents who are 65 years of age or over.433 OAS is not contingent on a person’s employment history, but on meeting a legal status and Canadian residency requirement. In particular, to qualify an applicant: • Must be 65 years of age or older; • Must have legal status in Canada; • If they live outside of Canada, must have had legal status on the day before they left Canada; • Must have lived in Canada for at least 10 years after turning 18 (or 20 years if you now reside outside of Canada); • Must submit the necessary documents434 Documents that may be required to apply for OAS pension include proof of date of birth, proof of Canadian legal status, and proof of residence history. Although proof of date of birth is not required, the Government of Canada reserves the right to request it at any time.435 “Legal resident” is not clearly defined in the Act or Regulations, but in order to have Canadian legal status an applicant must either be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident; or hold a temporary resident's permit (TRP) on the day before the applicant’s application is approved or the day before the person left Canada.436 For those born outside of Canada, certified copies of the following documentation could be used to confirm Canadian citizenship or legal status: certificate of Canadian citizenship, naturalization certificate, or Canadian passport issued in 1970 or later, Canadian immigration documents (Record of Landing or Permanent Resident Card) or Canadian immigration stamp on your passport, or temporary resident's permit.437 One media report has found that in order for some persons to provide proof of legal status in Canada and residency requirements, the types of information requested has become increasingly difficult to obtain.438 This is of particular concern to stateless persons. In addition, similar to the situation stateless persons may find themselves when applying for CPP benefits; stateless An Act Respecting the Québec Pension Plan, CQLR c R-9, available at: http://canlii.ca/t/525qp. Old Age Security Act, RSC 1985, c O-9, at ss. 4(1), 19(2), 21(2), available at: http://canlii.ca/t/527qf [Old Age Security Act] 434 Ibid., at s. 3(1). 435 Old Age Security Regulations, CRC, c 1246, at s. 18(1), available at: http://canlii.ca/t/5263k [Old Age Security Regulations] 436 Ibid., at s. 20-22; and see Service Canada, “Information Sheet for the Old Age Security Pension” (3 March 2014), at 2, available at: http://tinyurl.com/p9vjlj2 [Information Sheet for the Old Age Security Pension]. 437 Information Sheet for the Old Age Security Pension, ibid., at 2. 438 Nicolas Keung, “OAS benefits denied: Immigrants told to produce residency proofs” (30 July 2012), available at: http://tinyurl.com/mv8zthr. 432 433 90