The Canada Revenue Agency is releasing more information about what it is calling a "technical issue" with government payments not being issued to some Canadians either by cheque or direct deposit."
The CRA originally stated less than 2 per cent of GST/HST credit and OTB payments were impacted. In correspondence with the CRA, BayToday has learned "approximately 217,000 of the more than 13 million GST/HST credit and Ontario Trillium benefit recipients have been impacted by this interruption."
Readers contacted BayToday in advance of the Easter long weekend saying they had not received payments due to what they had been told is a government "glitch."
The original payment for the GST/HST credit (GSTC) was scheduled for April 5, with the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) due April 6. We contacted the Canada Revenue Agency and the organization acknowledged the issue and promised work was underway to rectify it.
One of those readers shared their concerns. "Like many Canadians, I was one of those who did not receive a GST or Trillium refund this month. After hours of trying to get through to CRA, the response I got was that there was a glitch in the system. What exactly this glitch was they did not explain. I was luckier than some. My Easter shopping and my bills were paid. A lot of people were counting on this and probably overspent their budgets."
Another reader confirmed she is among those who did not receive the payments and it had caused financial hardship for her family. "My husband is on ODSP and I work part-time, and ODSP takes almost half of that. We count on those deposits to pay bills."
According to the CRA, it encourages "anyone experiencing significant financial hardship as a result of this situation to contact the CRA immediately at 1-800-387-1193 (1-866-426-1527 in Yukon, NWT and Nunavut) to discuss their options. The CRA is here to help."
A CRA notice states, "Those who are signed up for direct deposit can expect their payment as early as April 14 while those getting cheques in the mail will begin receiving them the following week. We regret any inconvenience that this situation may cause."
On Sunday, in correspondence with BayToday, the CRA stated it "is in solution mode and currently working around the clock to issue the payments as quickly as possible to affected Canadians. We are committed to informing and being transparent with Canadians and will post updates to the Tax credits and benefits for individuals on the Canada.ca web page, to our portal, and through social media as more information becomes available."
