Ottawa will compensate low-income seniors who have had their Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) cut off following receiving the CERB. But even if some are in a catastrophic situation, they will have to wait until April due to federal computer problems.
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The newspaper contacted some of these seniors, including Bob Petit, 82, who has been called the father of snowmobile trails in Quebec and who was decorated with the medal of the National Assembly. Before the pandemic, the latter received $ 1,550 in government pensions. Then, last year, he was cut $350 from his GIS check.
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
“That’s half my rent. I have to cut back on food, meat, I replaced that with small frozen dishes, ”says Mr. Petit, a real institution in the Saint-Jean-de-Matha sector. The reason for this situation? The retiree owns an SME that produces placemats for restaurants and businesses in his region. When the pandemic arrived, everything stopped. He therefore received five months of CERB, which increased his income and excluded him from Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits.
“I was never informed that I was going to lose my supplement! They say they want to take care of seniors, but we pay the price. They don’t take care of us, they take money away from us,” he laments in an interview with The newspaper.
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Amputated GIS check
Same situation for Jacques Rhéault, a retiree from Louiseville who worked for 31 years in a factory in Contrecoeur.
In recent years, the latter worked as a gardener in a hotel in Trois-Rivières. After receiving the CERB, he was amputated by $ 400 from his federal check. He currently lives with his cousin, for fear of ending up on the street.
“We don’t live much with that money. We deprive ourselves of food. In addition, because of the CERB which is taxable, I have to pay $300 per month in taxes in Quebec and Ottawa. I don’t have much left to live on,” he laments.
Eight months of inaction
The Trudeau government has pledged to financially compensate the 183,000 seniors in this situation in Canada for an amount of $752 million, but the single payment will not be made before April, which is denounced by the Bloc Québécois .
“We have asked this question dozens of times. We will not let go of the file, it has been eight months since seniors have suffered significant losses, ”says the MP and party whip, Claude DeBellefeuille, during an interview with The newspaper.
According to the Bloc Québécois, Ottawa is delaying paying the compensation due to computer problems.
“How can a government in 10 days have given CERB checks to thousands of Canadians and be unable to advance a one-time payment of $ 3,500 for the most fragile seniors? she asks herself.
Not before mid-April
Employment and Social Development Canada did not detail the cause of the payment delays.
But the Minister of Seniors, Kamal Khera, stressed yesterday that the amount paid to seniors in precarious situations will be brought forward to mid-April.
It was to be initially paid in May by the federal government.