Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to talk today about the woeful delivery of the Seniors Home Heating Subsidy and the need for improvements in our general customer service approach. One of my constituents applied for the heating fuel subsidy and filed his paperwork asking for propane fuel. He was told more information was needed, re-filed the identical information, and was approved. He heard nothing until a delivery truck arrived at his rural home and filled his generator fuel tank with diesel. He called the department, reported the error, and was told he would receive propane this time. The allowable benefit for propane is 3,200 litres.
The department mistakenly approved him for the 2,400 litre diesel allowance. Upon request, they corrected this error. The department told him to call the propane company to arrange his delivery. The company has no Yellowknife service representatives and when he called they knew nothing of the program. He went to the Yellowknife office and was told that the delivery would be made and to give the propane company the government delivery order so the company could get payment from the department. He supplied that. The bill went unpaid for three months and he began to get letters demanding payment and saying late payment charges would be added. The overdue account was turned over to a collection agency with a warning that his credit rating would be damaged. The bill has now been paid but he is still on the hook for the late payment charges, which the department hasn’t paid.
I think you would agree that this experience could hardly have been worse. I am not only concerned with the disappointing treatment of my constituent, but with the potential loss of benefits to many seniors owing to the complexity, difficulty and failed management of the program. This person happened to have sophisticated skills for dealing with government. Others who may be less well-educated or informed might never know the program due to lack of promotion. They might abandon their attempts to receive support at any one of the failed service points in this process. They could receive less than their allowance benefits due to errors in the amount and type of fuel subsidy being approved. They could end up suffering adverse credit rating consequences or even the loss of their credit rating. They would definitely be subjected to long and unnecessary anxiety and inconvenience.
Seniors receive this assistance because they are in need of extra support. While the program is admirable and reasonable in its intentions, this case demonstrates dreadful customer service delivery. If we were a business…
Mr. Bromley, your time for your Member’s statement has expired.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Mr. Speaker, if we were a business, we would have gone out of business long ago with this sort of performance. The department has been informed of this incident and promised prompt action, but we need to do better for all our customers. I will be asking questions later about improving our general service delivery. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
