Even before a single cheque was dropped in a mailbox, the idea was controversial.
Doug Ford's PC government announced last month it had started sending $200 cheques to most adults in Ontario — a "taxpayer rebate" to help ease the cost of living.
Opposition parties slammed the move as a pre-election ploy, a $3-billion stunt to curry favour with voters in advance of an election call. At this point, it's not even clear what the final shipping costs will be.
Now that the cheques are beginning to arrive, more problems have surfaced — including misprints that have prevented some people from cashing theirs. And earlier this week, the government issued a "scam alert" on its rebate web page, warning people to be wary of being contacted by someone claiming to be a government staffer asking for personal information.
SEE: Ontario warns of $200 rebate cheque scams
All of this begs the question: Why not use direct deposit instead of Canada Post? A lot of people around the province are wondering the same thing.
A government spokesperson says “cheques are an effective way to deliver payments to eligible recipients," and that the full cost of mailing out all those envelopes will eventually be reported as part of the 2024-25 public accounts.
TorontoToday reporter Sarah Do Couto joins us tonight to talk about the controversial rebate cheques. You can read her latest coverage HERE.
Stay tuned for more episodes of ‘Closer Look’ every weeknight at 7 p.m. You can find all our previous segments HERE.
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