There are a number of ways Yaniv could have a tugboat, in my opinion. I'm not an expert on these topics, but this is what I do know of - happy to be corrected if I'm wrong. Don't think I've seen this info posted yet:
Disability (CPP):
In Canada, there is 'disability' through CPP (Canada Pension Plan). CPP is mandatory for any employed Canadian to pay into, which goes towards your CPP (at old age). However, if you become permanently disabled/terminal, you are allowed to cash out early so to speak, by way of getting a monthly pension. It's not a lot, and it's a LENGTHY process (from what I hear 6 months or more) that requires a LOT of paperwork, medical opinion to support your claim, etc. BUT it's a lifelong payment. It's based on what you have paid into the system to date (an employed middle aged single person in mid-late 30s thats worked full time since 18 would likely have a monthly payment of approximately $1100-ish). You get more with each dependent. I don't know for certain, but my guess is your assets have zero bearing on your qualification. Could he have achieved this status? Possibly. It's a hurdle, but with the amount of bitching and whining he does, I could see a doctor signing off on his shit just to get him out of the office.
Welfare (PWD):
Then there is something else which can also be considered disability. It's basically welfare, but with an added 'PWD' designation (personal with disability). The PWD designation provides for a bit more money than regular welfare (I *think* it's approximately $1200 a month for a single person). This disability is administered through the province of BC, and offers the bells and whistles (such as mobility scooters, canes, transit passes, monthly health care premium waived). It's not as difficult to get on by a long shot, and once you are in the system, obtaining those freebies is not too hard. Is he on this? ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY. In my opinion. You can have a decent amount of money/assets in the bank and still be eligible.
I've heard that you can be on both CPP disability AND welfare as PWD, but I'm not sure. If that's the case, you could make a reaaaaaaal nice income for youself. EDIT. It appears if you are getting CPP disability, you can get PWD (if the amount you are getting from CPP is below the PWD provincial minimum). So yeah, you can game both systems, but it sounds like you'd max out at about 1200/month-ish for a single. Ballpark.
There is another option he could have tried to take advantage of as well, and that's WCB (Workers Compensation Board). I haven't seen any evidence of this, but there are people that will fake disabilities/injuries resulting from workplace accidents/environments and can score big settlements. I'm not too sure of the complexity of gaming this system, but if anyone would know how, it's him.
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