Pierre Dorval planned everything. In his 65 years and six monthse The birthday, Quebec-based engineer sent all his documents to the federal and provincial governments as soon as he became eligible to receive his retirement pension.
Posted at 7:00 am
He received his first payment from Quebec on a scheduled date in September 2022. After numerous phone conversations, emails and other failed attempts to communicate, he is still waiting for his check from Ottawa.
“We see it with immigration, with passports, we see it in everything: we don’t really know what’s going on at the federal level, but we know it’s not going well,” the new retiree from Energir said calmly. .
Press Since publishing an article last week on the federal government’s loss of control over the files, it has received several messages from young retirees denouncing the same situation. Among other things, we disclosed that Ottawa did not know how many of its employees were working from home.
Another reader lamented that she had not received any acknowledgment of receipt from the federal government more than three months after she applied for old-age pension. “Have we become a developing country? she said sarcastically.
58% more employees
One thing is clear: the delays many seniors lament have nothing to do with a shortage of civil servants.
According to data provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the agency responsible for the file, the number of Old Age Security employees increased from 1,142 in 2015-2016 to 1,802 in 2021-2022. At the same time, the annual number of new pension applications fell from 887,155 to 737,737.
So there are 58% more employees than six years ago… processing fewer new pension applications.
ESDC is unable to provide an average processing time for new applications. This benefit is available from the first month after 65e Birthday and future claimants can apply up to 12 months in advance. Many seniors look to these payments of up to $600 per month to balance their budget.
“Applications are being processed to ensure that as many new clients as possible receive their payment within their first month of eligibility,” an ESDC spokesperson said via email. The service standard is that basic benefits are paid within the first month of eligibility in at least 90% of cases. »
Last year ESDC succeeded in meeting this target 89.5% on time. That means nearly 70,000 Canadians faced delays in paying their first cheques.
Photo by Alain Roberge, Pres
Last June, scores of people lined up in front of the Guy-Favreau federal building in Montreal to get their passports.
The image of the federal government was destroyed
Confusion with passports, delays in pensions, problems with the CERB, delays in processing information requests: the accumulation of failures tarnishes the image of the federal government, said Etienne Charbonneau, a full professor at the National School of Public Administration. (ENAP).
How are you going to design complex programs like dental insurance, with simple problems like sending checks to retirees, when such basic programs fail?
Etienne Charbonneau is a full professor at the National School of Public Administration
“It doesn’t necessarily give people confidence,” he continues.
ESDC defends its means. New applications for old-age security pensions are “prioritised so that as many people as possible receive their benefits within the first month of eligibility,” the department says.
Réseau FADOQ, Canada’s largest seniors organization, monitors the situation. “If it turns out that citizens are not being served and that some people are seriously disadvantaged, for example when there is a delay in processing old-age security applications that citizens have completed on time, there will be some concern,” argued his spokesman Christian Labare-Dufresne.
About The Author
