MONTREAL – “Simple, safe and always on time” may be the motto displayed on a government website, but unfortunately, it’s directly above a message asking people to return duplicated welfare cheques.
Quebec’s Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity issued a recall over the weekend for thousands of duplicate cheques that were sent in error to welfare recipients for the month of October.
The message on the site reads:
“An error occurred while issuing last-resort financial assistance checks for the month of October. If you have received twice the same check, please send one back to your local employment centre (CLE).”
On Saturday, David McKeown, a spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed that the cheques had to be reprinted in order to fix a problem with the quality; but the originals should have been destroyed, not sent out.
He could not say how many welfare recipients had received a duplicate cheque, but he did confirm that the government expects to recover the funds.
McKeown is hoping that people will do the right thing and return the money. He has also called on the support of financial institutions, noting that it should not be possible to cash two cheques bearing the same identification number at a bank.
According to official records, in July 2013, 451,126 people received financial assistance. Just 15 per cent were paid via cheque, while 85 per cent were paid via direct deposit.
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