henric
02-03-2012, 01:40 PM
A Stratford, Ont. woman was mistakenly declared dead by the federal government, then asked to return tax credits paid out to her since her "death."
But the 51-year-old Stratford, Ont. woman is very much alive and getting more frustrated each day with the bureaucratic snafu that landed her in financial limbo.
Campbell first noticed something was amiss when she didn't get her monthly government cheques in December. A leukemia patient raising a son on her own, she relies heavily on government assistance, especially the $382 monthly child tax benefit.
"The money that goes into the bank is what comes out almost immediately for cost of living," Campbell told CTV News.
When she called Revenue Canada about the missing cheques, she was shocked to discover that she had been marked as "deceased." The government employee she spoke with said the bizarre mistake was likely a keystroke error and would be taken care of immediately.
"I told my son. He said, ‘Mom, I can see you, you're standing right in front of me," Campbell said.
But a few days later, Campbell received a letter from the government seeking to recoup the money paid out since her "death."
"I just about threw up," she said.
Campbell got back on the phone and was once again assured the mix-up would be resolved. Then, she received another letter saying she's not entitled to the GST or HST tax credits because she's, well, dead.
"We've watched Sue go through enough, so to see her go through this, it was just another slap in the face," said Campbell's friend Jim Bell.
The union representing federal clerical workers says it's possible staffing issues caused the error and then allowed Campbell's file to slip through the cracks.
Opposition MPs in Ottawa blame hundreds of government job cuts for mistaken deaths and other not-so-innocuous clerical errors.
Government officials say mistakes happen, but staff members work to correct them as quickly as possible.
"I still want to know how it got done without a death certificate," Campbell said. "It's beyond me."
With a report by CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian in Ottawa
But the 51-year-old Stratford, Ont. woman is very much alive and getting more frustrated each day with the bureaucratic snafu that landed her in financial limbo.
Campbell first noticed something was amiss when she didn't get her monthly government cheques in December. A leukemia patient raising a son on her own, she relies heavily on government assistance, especially the $382 monthly child tax benefit.
"The money that goes into the bank is what comes out almost immediately for cost of living," Campbell told CTV News.
When she called Revenue Canada about the missing cheques, she was shocked to discover that she had been marked as "deceased." The government employee she spoke with said the bizarre mistake was likely a keystroke error and would be taken care of immediately.
"I told my son. He said, ‘Mom, I can see you, you're standing right in front of me," Campbell said.
But a few days later, Campbell received a letter from the government seeking to recoup the money paid out since her "death."
"I just about threw up," she said.
Campbell got back on the phone and was once again assured the mix-up would be resolved. Then, she received another letter saying she's not entitled to the GST or HST tax credits because she's, well, dead.
"We've watched Sue go through enough, so to see her go through this, it was just another slap in the face," said Campbell's friend Jim Bell.
The union representing federal clerical workers says it's possible staffing issues caused the error and then allowed Campbell's file to slip through the cracks.
Opposition MPs in Ottawa blame hundreds of government job cuts for mistaken deaths and other not-so-innocuous clerical errors.
Government officials say mistakes happen, but staff members work to correct them as quickly as possible.
"I still want to know how it got done without a death certificate," Campbell said. "It's beyond me."
With a report by CTV's Daniele Hamamdjian in Ottawa