More than $1B paid out through BC Recovery Benefit: province

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – Despite a number of hiccups, the province says more than $1 billion has been handed out to British Columbians through the BC Recovery Benefit.

According to an email from the B.C. government, more than two million people have received funds through the COVID-19 benefit.

About 250,000 applications are in review, with more than 300,000 manually reviewed so far.

The one-time, tax-free payment of up to $1,000 for eligible families and single parents, and up to $500 for eligible individuals was a campaign promise from the BC NDP.

More BC Recovery Benefit coverage:

• About 300,000 COVID-19 Recovery Benefit applications under manual review, says premier

• Hundreds of thousands of B.C. Recovery Benefit payments still under review

• ‘It was supposed to be simple’: Delay in B.C. Recovery Benefit continues to frustrate applicants

• Claiming B.C.’s COVID-19 Recovery Benefit has not been quick or easy for some in province

While many people have received money through it, the BC Recovery Benefit’s start came with a number of complaints, mainly due to delays over application reviews.

British Columbians frustrated with the process have taken to social media over the past couple of months, many of them also calling NEWS 1130 to air their complaints. A number of people have received emails from the province outlining additional hoops to jump through to get a payment they were led to believe would be easy to access.

Once an application is approved, the province says payments should be received within five business days. It notes that “Once all documents are received, ministry staff work as quickly as possible to determine eligibility.”