Cheque delays plague Fort Good Hope
Sahtu MLA says federal government needs backup plan
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 17, 2014
RADILIH KOE'/FORT GOOD HOPE
Elders who rely on federal government cheques to buy groceries and pay bills have been left high and dry in Fort Good Hope.
Fort Good Hope elder Therese Pierrot, seen here in 2013, is among those who have been waiting more than two weeks for their Old Age Security and Canada Pension cheques, which were sent through Canada Post. - photo courtesy of Simran Lehal |
They have been waiting more than two weeks for their Old Age Security and Canadian Pension Plan cheques, which were supposed to arrive in late October. Parents are also waiting on their monthly Canada Child Tax Benefit cheque. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, the payment date was set for Oct. 20.
Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya hasn't received any calls from constituents recently, he said, but the same issue arose during a previous trip he made to the community, during which residents were very concerned.
"People are so used to having their cheques coming in every month on a certain date so they plan around it," said Yakeleya. "Their bills get paid around it, they go to the power corporation to pay their power bill, to pay the grocery store bill and any other municipal bills. Any money they have left over they budget for the next paycheque."
Employees at the Northern Store, where mail is distributed in the community, made calls to Canada Post to inquire about the delay.
Staff are "actively looking for the cheques," said John Caines, spokesperson for the Crown corporation.
Mail is flown into Fort Good Hope after first arriving in Yellowknife and Norman Wells.
North-Wright Airways is responsible for transporting the mail from Norman Wells to Fort Good Hope six days a week. Shipments to the community have been on time save two days in October when weather delayed the flight, said David James, operations manager for the airline.
"The mail room is cleared on a regular basis," he added.
The government needs to investigate where the cheques are getting delayed and fix the issue or at the very least come up with a plan B, said Yakeleya.
"There's got to be something better than just to leave residents high and dry," he said. "If the cheques are not there at a specific time, a specific date then there should be a backup plan implemented in the community through the band office ... So if for example there's $20,000 that's suppose to be mailed, then the government of Canada should guarantee through the band that there will be funds here so they can have the elders come and pick up the amount they're going to get through the cheque system."
