Low-income senior says she was kicked off COVID-19 subsidy after going just $4 over threshold

A senior on Vancouver Island says a tiny change in her income got her kicked off the provincial COVID-19 subsidy.

Sheila Chaisson, 67,from Courtenay, B.C., has a disability and receives a guaranteed income from the federal government. Up until June of this year she was also receiving the B.C. Senior's Supplement, whichallowed her to access an extra $300 monthly in COVID-19 support.

"But then I did my income taxes and I was $4over the threshold," she said.

Chaisson's income consists predominantly of her federal Old Age Security and guaranteed income supplementpayouts,as well as payments from her Canada Pension Plan. This yearher CPP paid out slightly more, bringing her monthly income to $1,583 a mere $4more thanthe maximum income she is allowed to receive in order to still benefit from the senior's supplement.

'I can't afford to... buy anything'

Chaisson says losing out on the monthly $300COVID-19 relief has had stark consequences.

"I can't afford to go out and buy anything," she said.

"I've really had to stretch to afford masks and sanitizer and all the things I need through the pandemic."

CBC contacted the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction but has yet to receive comment.

In a written statement, staff wrote that the maximum income threshold to access the B.C. Senior's Supplement is based on a sliding scale that looks at a senior's income and that "once a person's income goes over that threshold, by any amount, they are no longer eligible for the program."

Chaisson says she feels angry, hurt andabandoned during such a difficult time. She says the government has failed her and she worries about how many other seniors have found themselves in the same situation.

"I hear on the news how [the government] is helping people in B.C., but I'm sitting here struggling," she said.