The number of widows being asked to pay back a portion of their carbon tax rebate is growing, despite a promise from Albertaâs finance minister to ensure it wouldnât 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.
âI received a letter for repayment and it came as a shock,â the senior told CTV Edmonton.
She said itâs âinsensitiveâ that when someone passes away their loved one is given notice âwithin a short time.â
The widow said she saw 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 âweâre going to try and fix this so that it doesnât happen in the future.â
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Thursday that the letters are âbeing administered through the Canada Revenue Agency and weâve made it very clear that those rebates are not to be clawed back.â
In a statement, Finance Minister Ceci said that removing the repayment letters that have already been printed is âa manual process and it was likely missed.â
Ceci added that he is âdisappointed another family has received such a letter.â
But the affected widow told CTV Edmonton that in todayâs computer age, âthere should be no problem.â
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 âand advise that they were of the understanding that they were sent in error and they are not to be sending that money back.â
With a report by CTV Edmontonâs Amanda Anderson