“The federal government is chaining one fiasco after another,” the Bloc Québécois (BQ) denounced the difficulties faced by Quebec federal civil service workers and retirees who are unable to get their medication reimbursed by insurer Canada Life.
“The contract with Canada Life has been in place since 2021 and we’re talking about a sum of half a billion: it is completely unusual to see the current difficulties and federal officials have the right to expect more and better!” Louise Chabot, spokeswoman for the Bloc Québécois on labor and employment issues, told the Journal on Tuesday. In the wake of the Phoenix system pay scandal, this new headache hurts.
Last Friday, Le Journal told the story of a retired Canadian military (CAF) who is furious with his insurer Canada Life, which is owned by the giant Power Corporation controlled by the Desmarais family.
Since then, many Quebecers, among the plan’s 375,000 Quebec civil servants and retirees, have contacted Le Journal to lament similar cases.
“The quality of service is outrageous,” said Roy Goodall, president of the National Association of Federal Retirees.
“It’s unacceptable”
For Louise Chabot of the Bloc Québécois, however, it is completely abnormal that this system is so ineffective.
“Waiting 50 hours to speak to an agent and having to pay thousands of dollars straight out of pocket is unacceptable,” she said.
“More than an apology, the federal government needs to make it clear to their insurer that their current management is unacceptable and that they must remedy the situation immediately,” the spokesman for the Bloc Québécois on Labor said.
When asked by Le Journal last week, Canada Life apologized.
The Secretariat of the Treasury Board also defended itself.
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