Federal benefits hiccups leave some Sask. workers in the lurch

All over the country, the doors of businesses are closed due to COVID-19 restrictions and millions of people are out of work as a result.

The federal government has extended relief for workers, and applications for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) started being accepted on Monday. Many have been able to send in their applications without any problems, but others have been running into problems and haven’t been able to get anyone on the phone to fix it.

“I’m down to my last $20. I owe on my rent. I owe on my storage locker. I’ve got a financial payment coming up. I’ve got a credit card payment coming up, like normal people, right? And this is going to wipe me out,” said John Hope.

The restaurant Hope worked at in Moose Jaw closed about three weeks ago and he was laid off. He had been getting only about 20 hours a week so he was getting some help from EI already, but when he tried to change his employment status online, his account locked up, telling him to call the service line.

“I can’t get into my account because they want to talk to me,” he said. “Well, I can’t get ahold of anybody because of high call volumes.”

Hope said he has spent hours waiting on hold on the phone for Service Canada — that’s when he doesn’t get turned away from the line or just gets a busy signal.

“All I’m hearing is, ‘We’re unable to take your call at this present time due to high call volumes,’ and then ‘click,’ ” said Hope.

He doesn’t have any money coming in and can’t apply for any of the relief meant for people affected by COVID-19 because he can’t get anyone on the phone. Hope said no one is hiring and he can’t even travel to find work right now.

Service Canada didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Hope’s story would sound familiar to Ron Wandler, who runs a windshield repair kiosk. It’s seasonal work but he shut things down when the COVID-19 restrictions came in.

“I just figured I’m going to just shut it down now that this virus is around. There’s no sense exposing people to possible contamination as well as myself,” said Wandler.

Last week he tried to get an account set up with Service Canada so when applications for CERB started being accepted, he could do it quickly.

Wandler said as he was going through setting things up, he had to look up some information, and when he got to the end it told him his session had timed out. He hasn’t been able to log back in.

Wandler since has spent hours on the phone trying to talk to someone who could help him get back into his account. He said he has also been getting a busy signal when he calls or will get into a line and be put on hold, then just gets cut off. He said he was waiting for an hour 20 minutes earlier this week.

“I was in the queue and then all of a sudden it sounds like they’re going to click me in to go next — you know, like I’m coming up. I hear this click, beep beep beep, and I’m cut out,” said Wandler.

While this is happening, Wandler doesn’t have any money coming in. He said he’s not in dire straits at the moment, noting there are other people worse off than him, but his bills are still coming in.