Time and time again, I hear stories of people (we are called taxpayers) not knowing about programs and financial supports that are available to them.
These can be found through the federal government and the B.C. government. Not all eligible taxpayers (have to be married or common-law) know about the federal allowance for those between 60 and 65 when their partner gets the Old Age Security (OAS) pension. Then there’s the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), for low-income seniors getting the OAS. Why are our governments so secretive about these financial supports, which were designed to help those living in poverty? Sometimes taxpayers wait years to learn of these supports.
While the federal financial support will be paid retroactively, they’ll generally go back just 11 months. There’s another federal financial support for taxpayers with approved (by the feds) medical conditions or mental functions necessary for everyday life. This is the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (DTCC) and has to be completed by the taxpayer and a medical practitioner (often a family doctor, who’ll charge a fee). The good bit about this DTCC is that the federal government will pay retroactively, based on the medical practitioner’s diagnosis duration.
Through Statistics Canada there is something called the low-income-cut-off (LICO), sometimes called the poverty line. For a city the population of Penticton, the 2016 LICO is calculated at $21,354.00 (before tax) for one person. This calculation puts me below the LICO and even further down after calculating taxable income, even with my GIS. I can barely imagine what it’s like for those trying to eke out a living when they don’t know of their rights to governments’ financial supports and programs.
The B.C. government has an annual bus pass program, for seniors who get the GIS. But, it appears as this is another “secret” program, that I hear time and time again, from those who use public transit and know nothing of this program. If these seniors don’t know about either the GIS or the $45 annual B.C. bus pass, nothing happens and they’ll continue to pay the monthly pass ($35 senior) rate. This is the same for those under 65 and in receipt of the B.C. disability pension. If you don’t know (and our governments won’t tell), you’ll continue to live in poverty, while our elected government representatives continue to receive our taxes as their “wages” and pensions.
One day, governments might learn from their practice of paying the Canada Child Benefits, which are automatically calculated when parents file their tax returns. While the federal election of Oct. 21, 2019 is a year after the B.C. municipal election of Oct. 20, 2018, we know that “things in the mirror are closer than they appear” and these are important times to keep candidates and returning elected representatives accountable for established governments programs and, hopefully, improvements.
Brigid Kemp
Penticton