Tories say seniors' income supplement hinges partly on what agency handled their CERB

The main emergency benefits lifeline for Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic was in fact two streams processed by two different government bodies, with implications for whether seniors qualify for federal support payments, the Conservatives say.

In a letter to Seniors Minister Deb Schulte, Tory MP Rosemarie Falk says some low-income seniors “have been arbitrarily penalized” based on whether their guaranteed income supplement (GIS) came through Service Canada’s employment insurance program or through the Canada Revenue Agency.

The $2,000-per-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit amounted to “two entirely different relief programs, distributed by different government agencies and with different eligibility criteria,” though seniors were never informed, Falk wrote in an Aug. 9 letter obtained by The Canadian Press.

“Applicants who collected emergency benefits through the EI system may exclude this income in their statement of estimated income” — and thus avoid clawbacks on their income supplement — “while applicants who collected emergency benefits through CRA cannot,” she said.

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