The number of widows being asked to pay back a portion of their carbon tax rebate is growing, despite a promise from Alberta’s finance minister to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
One Edmonton widow, who asked not to be identified for personal safety reasons, is the latest Albertan being asked to repay $25 of her carbon tax rebate because her husband passed away.
“I received a letter for repayment and it came as a shock,” the senior told CTV Edmonton.
She said it’s “insensitive” that when someone passes away their loved one is given notice “within a short time.”
The widow said she saw CTV Edmonton’s story last month about widow Irene Pagacz, who was also told to pay back a portion of the rebate. Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci personally phoned Pagacz to apologize and told reporters at the time that ‘we’re going to try and fix this so that it doesn’t happen in the future.”
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Thursday that the letters are “being administered through the Canada Revenue Agency and we’ve made it very clear that those rebates are not to be clawed back.”
In a statement, Finance Minister Ceci said that removing the repayment letters that have already been printed is “a manual process and it was likely missed.”
Ceci added that he is “disappointed another family has received such a letter.”
But the affected widow told CTV Edmonton that in today’s computer age, “there should be no problem.”
Notley is now telling widows and widowers in the province who are asked to repay a portion of the rebate to contact the Canada Revenue Agency “and advise that they were of the understanding that they were sent in error and they are not to be sending that money back.”
With a report by CTV Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson
