Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) erred in asking the families of deceased residents to return their carbon rebate cheques.
“It’s not right asking for this back,” he told News Talk 770’s Rob Breakenridge, adding that he only became aware of the issue on Monday.
LISTEN: Joe Ceci on province asking for carbon rebate cheques to be returned from dead Albertans
Ceci said he immediately contacted a family who had received one of the letters and added that, in that case, he believes the cheque was mailed before the agency received the death certificate.
He said he and his team will meet with CRA officials to prevent this from happening to more Alberta families.
Ceci said the CRA handles processing and delivery of carbon rebate cheques for the province.
“It’s tragic, of course. This is the last thing they need at a time when they’re dealing with the mourning and the stress of having gone through all of that,” he said.
“We all deserve better in terms of how this is handled.”