Victoria – The BC Ombudsperson is investigating the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction’s distribution of cheques intended for income and disability assistance clients during the current Canada Post strike. The Ombudsperson’s investigation was commenced after being advised by the ministry that as of last week, thousands of November social assistance cheques were not yet delivered.

“The ministry’s clients are some of the province’s most vulnerable people and, given the upcoming holiday season, I am concerned that many people will be left without funds for food and shelter,” said Chalke. “Despite the ministry’s efforts to encourage direct deposit, hard copy cheques need to be mailed every month, for example to recipients who do not have bank accounts and thus are not eligible for direct deposit.”

The ministry has taken some steps to distribute hard copy cheques during the strike. However, last week the ministry indicated that 40 percent of November’s hard copy cheques still had not been delivered. This meant thousands of families had to wait to receive the assistance they rely on to meet their basic needs, and others had yet to receive it at all.

“Given the widely reported risk of a strike at Canada Post, the ministry needed to have an effective plan for the distribution of these hard copy cheques to people in need. Our investigation will assess the adequacy of that plan,” said Chalke.

The investigation will assess the ministry’s contingency planning before the strike was announced, as well as steps taken during the strike to distribute hard copy cheques to the approximately 15 percent of income and disability assistance recipients not on direct deposit.

“The next social assistance payment date is December 18. The end of December is when many ministry employees intend to be on vacation, which could present operational challenges,” said Chalke. “I am calling on the government to demonstrate it has a plan in place to achieve better and faster results for December’s cheques in the event the strike continues.”