Even dead people received $500 this week as the Saskatchewan government started sending out “affordability cheques” to anyone who filed a 2021 Saskatchewan income tax return..If a dead person gets a cheque, it can be added to their estate if the estate has not been completed..Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said the government has no information on who may have died since filing their 2021 income taxes..“We have no way to know that they died,” said Harpauer.. Donna Harpauer .The government said the purpose of the cheques is to help with rising food, transportation, and heating costs..READ MORE Moe announces a $500 'affordability cheque' for Sask residents.The NDP criticized the cheques because the $500 is per adult and does not factor in children. So, a single adult and a single parent with three children get the same amount..According to the Food Banks of Saskatchewan, one in four children currently uses a food bank..Only people filing a 2021 Saskatchewan income tax return get cheques which leaves out new residents or people with no income who do not file a return..Harpauer said the “tax rolls” were the only viable option to create a list of individuals who should receive an affordability cheque..“It’s not perfect, but it was what we estimated or determined was the most reliable database we could use,” said Harpauer..Harpauer dismissed the idea the government could have checked the tax list with a list of dead people to prevent the cheques from being sent to dead people..“I’m not sure how we’d access that information because, literally, someone could have died yesterday and they’ll get their cheque Friday and we just have no way to gather that information,” said Harpauer. .“It would be a huge undertaking for, I believe, a relatively small amount of money in a $450-million initiative.”.Harpauer said the government sent out more than 900,000 cheques.
