Canadian woman loses her home amid government payroll debacle

A woman in Newfoundland has lost her house after the government of Canada stopped paying her while she was on contract with its own revenue agency.

After she was promoted in 2017, the problem got worse: suddenly her pay stubs read $0. And although she stopped working for the government in April 2018, she continues to receive tax documents claiming she worked in 2020 and 2021.

The pay problems have created major hardship for Nemec Osmond and her two daughters, who used to have a house with a pool in the backyard and now live in subsidized housing with a back door that opens on to a four-lane highway.

And her youngest child, who is 11, has suffered mental health problems as a consequence of the upheaval, said Nemec Osmond.

The debacle has cost the government more than C$2.4bn so far, and may cost even more as problems persist and employees file new compensation claims.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said it had resolved nearly all of the 27,955 compensation claims it had so far received. However, many claims for severe damages remain unresolved.

The government is presently testing a new payroll programme that it hopes will run much more smoothly.

When asked if she thought that programme would be better, Nemec Osmond laughed.