Calls for B.C. to repeal COVID-19-related disability 'clawback'
The B.C. government is under pressure to reconsider a change that means some people on disability are getting less money – despite the government's vow to support them through the pandemic.
Earlier in the pandemic, people were able to get federal employment insurance without it coming off their provincial disability cheque. Although B.C. is still reeling from COVID-19's impacts, that's no longer the case.
A statement from Social Development Minister Nick Simons said, in part: "In November, the federal government began replacing broad emergency supports with targeted ones, restoring the EI program to its original purpose. B.C.’s change is consistent with this federal shift."
CTV News spoke to a woman – who wished only to be identified as Keri – who says she lost her job during the pandemic. The changes, which mean each dollar of Employment Insurance is deducted from disability payments, mean Keri no longer gets a disability cheque. She said she only found out about the change in January, by chance.
In a statement, the province said it notified people in mid-December.
BC Liberal social development critic Dan Davies said constituents raised the issue with MLAs. He pointed out that up until this week, the province's own website still said that you could get EI and a disability cheque as part of pandemic supports.
The opposition called this another communication failure, and urged B.C.’s NDP government to reconsider the program, even if it's meant to dovetail into the federal government's program.
"The reality is, the provincial government has the ability to not implement this,” Davies said. “They have the ability to, you know, extend this further or to extend this longer, which is what we're asking."
“This is cruel and unusual punishment to those that are being impacted by this the most,” he added.
The minister's statement went on to say the broad programs put in place at the beginning of the pandemic are being replaced by more targeted supports.
Keri says the experience is demeaning, adding she can no long afford to visit her mom who lives in another city, and who has cancer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Thanks to wildfires, air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.