Dozens of people lined up outside the Sudbury Community Service Centre on Saturday, with another 40 or so waiting inside the building, for a free tax clinic.
More than 100 people attended the previous few weekend tax clinics, which Sudbury Community Service Centre executive director Kevin Cooper told Sudbury.com are always well-visited.
'It was just kind of pandemonium yesterday, really," Cooper told Sudbury.com on Sunday, adding that approximately 150 people ended up showing up, and a team of four tax experts got through close to 100 tax filings, including couples.
This is part of the Financial Empowerment Champions service the Government of Ontario recently cut across the province.
Originally slated to end by March 31, the province extended funding to this and similar programs across the province so they can continue offering tax services for another three months.
This is a positive step, Cooper said, noting it will allow them to finish off the current tax season, but their future remains uncertain.
The province plans on requesting organizations such as the Sudbury Community Service Centre submit a request for proposal (RFP) for future funding.
This would have been fine if the RFP were specific to taxes or financial services, Cooper said, noting that they’ve been told it’s going to be a general application encompassing a wide range of important things, such as gender-based violence.
“We’re not sure how we’re going to fit in the whole scheme of things,” he said, adding that with services competing against one another it’s unclear whether financial empowerment will make the cut.
Although other organizations in Sudbury provide free tax services, Cooper said theirs is unique in their ability to handle more-complex tax forms which newcomers to Canada require.
Many of the people who gathered outside their office on Saturday were newcomers to Canada, most of whom Sudbury.com was unable to communicate with due to language barriers.
Andrea Letent, from Belgium, said the services offered by the Sudbury Community Service Centre are unique, and something she is thankful to have been referred to.
“I think it’s an important service to promote,” she said, adding that newcomers such as herself have unique tax requirements she has been unable to find help with elsewhere.
During Saturday’s tax clinic, the dozens of people who were waiting outside crowded the front door to get their hands on numbered tickets which queued them up for free services inside.
Many people spend hours waiting to have their taxes filed by staff and volunteer helpers, Cooper told Sudbury.com, using this as an example of the program’s importance to some.
The provincial funding cut, which translates to $180,000 locally, came as a surprise to Cooper, who learned about it after having already filed an RFP for another round of funding, which the province cancelled without any programming at the ready to replace it.
Last year, 4,200 tax returns were completed through the Sudbury Community Service Centre office, returning $14 million to low-income people free of charge.
This, in addition to providing people with financial guidance.
“It has definitely helped our economy,” Cooper said. “These people aren’t going out and spending money outside the areas they’re living now because they’re trying to make ends meet. ... We have the numbers to show the return on investment is incredible."
Cooper affirmed the Sudbury Community Service Centre would continue offering its Financial Empowerment Program for as long as they can.
Sudbury.com connected with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services media team requesting a phone interview with anyone from the Government of Ontario to explain the latest on the tax preparation program, including what might replace it.
They did not address our request for a phone interview, and responded instead with a written statement. This has been common practice among Government of Ontario agencies.
“The ministry has offered Financial Empowerment Champions pilot organizations an additional period of direct funding to continue the delivery of some services for the next three months,” they wrote.
“The goal of the financial empowerment pilot has always been to integrate the learning into our regular program delivery. We appreciate the support provided by agencies like the Sudbury Community Service Centre to build capacity in their communities and to help clients.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
