Winnipeg woman gets 'ridiculous' federal letter seeking 20

Winnipeg woman gets 'ridiculous' federal letter seeking 20-cent repayment

Message says Service Canada wants small amount, paid through disability benefits, back

A Winnipeg woman is "frustrated" after receiving a letter indicating an overpayment of 20 cents on her disability pension, and a freedom of information request revealed thousands of similar letters have been sent out in the past two years.

Liane Doumbia says her "stomach dropped" when she opened a letter from Service Canada in December stating she had a repayment to make.

The Winnipeg resident has been receiving Canada Pension Plan disability benefits since her health deteriorated in April 2024. She has had chronic health issues for a few years, including chronic pain.

"Obviously, you're not living the luxury life. So, I was a little bit worried," Doumbia said in a video call from her hospital bed last week.

She says she went on to read that she owed 20 cents — about a cent for each month she had been receiving the payments.

"I got frustrated because these letters shouldn't even be going out."

That letter directed Doumbia to repay the amount by cheque or money order. It indicated that if payment was not received, Service Canada "will recover this amount by deducting 25% from [her] monthly payment starting in March 2026, until the full overpayment amount has been paid back."

She calls the repayment demand "ridiculous" and says the experience has been stressful for her.

"It's the initial, 'Oh my goodness, how much am I going to have to repay?' And then the ridiculous notion that it's 20 cents. And then the further worry that, 'Well, are they going to take something more?'"

Doumbia, a former government employee, says she tried to contact Service Canada workers to better understand her situation.

"I thought there's no way that they're going to start taking more than what is due. But I lived a little bit through the whole Phoenix era, working for the federal government. So, I did try to call, but it was impossible to get through."

After launching 10 years ago, the error-plagued Phoenix pay system overpaid and underpaid thousands of federal public servants.

Doumbia has not seen any deductions in her pension disability payments since she received the letter in December.

A spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, which administers the benefits Doumbia receives, said in an email to Radio-Canada that it "may write off overpayments of $0.99 or less."

The 99-cent limit applies to the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and Old Age Security programs. All other programs have a threshold of $2, the Low-value Amounts Regulations state.

Employment and Social Development Canada did not clarify why Doumbia's debt was not written off before the letter was sent.

After making a freedom of information request, Radio-Canada learned Employment and Social Development Canada sent 3,491 letters alerting Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and Old Age Security recipients they were overpaid $2 or less. These letters were "generated through automated systems."

From Nov. 28 to Dec. 31, Employment and Social Development Canada also issued 27 letters signalling an overpayment or requesting repayments of less than $2 for the Canada Disability Benefit, a program where all debts under $2 should be annulled automatically.

In an emailed response, an Employment and Social Development Canada spokesperson said the department is "updating its procedures for the handling of small overpayments" while maintaining "sound stewardship of public funds."

These changes include no longer asking clients owing "small overpayments" to repay their debts by cheque or money order. The amount will instead be recovered automatically from future payments. However, clients will still "receive a letter informing them of the overpayment, their revised benefit entitlement, and their right to request a reconsideration."

Nicolas Gagnon, the Quebec director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, says the entire situation is worrying.

"It is a clear waste of taxpayers' dollars. If the government is paying more to put stamps on the letter than the amount that is recovered, there is clearly a waste of dollars, and a waste of government resources as well," he said.

Canada Post's website says a domestic stamp costs $1.24 if purchased in a multi-pack.

Gagnon adds similar issues have occurred in the past with other government departments and that he is concerned letters such as the one mailed to Doumbia are still being sent despite modernisation efforts.

"We've seen similar situations in the past, with Revenue Canada sending out notices to refund amounts as small as 50 cents or $1," he told Radio-Canada in French.

"Eventually, that practice, or at least that error, came to an end. So, it's still pretty unusual that, after all these years, we're seeing a similar situation again."

Doumbia is also concerned about the resources used to send letters seeking small amounts, even those that technically meet the threshold for repayment.

"We're trying to cut expenses, and that just seems like a gross exaggeration of money that has gone out that wasn't required. I don't understand how this beat [it] past the safeguards."

She hopes the government reviews its policies so other Canadians can avoid the stress and worry she went through.

"In this day and age, there has to be a way for the government to be able to control these letters from going out."

Maggie Wilcox is a multi-platform journalist at CBC/Radio-Canada Winnipeg. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in history and English. As a young journalist, she uses multimedia reporting to connect with audiences her age and get to the heart of current affairs.