Left Hand Does Not Know What the Right Hand Is Doing

Been off school all week and thoroughly enjoying the time off. I still had readings to do and assignments to work on... they really don't like giving you a free week. LOL Things were going well until yesterday. I was down to creating some flowcharts for my DNA lab and reading over the computer independent learning (I refuse to actually complete them... way too basic for me). But I had to fill out my EI report. Odd thing I like having money to live on. I was assuming that I would have to say I was in school for the first week and off for the second week but wanted to make sure. Didn't want to risk not getting paid. I was even tempted to just put that I was in class and save myself the hassle. So I decide to call in. Call #1 goes something like this...

Me: "I have a dumb question. I was off school this week and want to make sure that I should be filling out the EI report indicating that I was off school."
Rep: "Okay so you were off school this week"
Me: "Yes it was closed for reading week. No one had classes" (Guess that is important to note since I could've been off with the flu... or H1N1 even)
Rep: "So what you are going to need to do is fill out the report online (Now I called the telephone reporting service... is it not their job to assist with this???) and then call back to have it escalated so that they can confirm there was a break. It will take a little longer to get the money but you should have it by Friday."
Me: "Okay will do."

End call... I go ahead and fill out the report and sure enough get a warning that I need to call in. Call #2 did not go nearly as smoothly.

Me: "I just filled out the report and it told me I needed to call in. I already spoke with someone since we were off school all week and was told I needed to fill out the report and call back to have it escalated to confirm the school was closed. So now I am calling back."
Nadia: "Okay well let me pull up your file."
Gets security info and pulls up the file.
Nadia: "Oh I am sorry. I do not see anything in your file indicating that there was a break. There is nothing that I can do. You will have to go back to whoever approved the request to go back to school to resolve this."
Me: "But I was told to fill out the report and then call back in to have it escalated."
Nadia: "I am sorry but there is nothing I can do. Your file does not mention you having a break."
Me: "I wish I had been told that a few minutes ago when I called in. I would have held off filing the report until I could get in touch with them."
Dead silence... she may have even hung up on me at this point. Not that I waited long before hanging up.

At this point you can insert tears. I mean we are talking about $500 being on hold.... And me being caught in the middle of 2 different government departments. Not to mention the fact I was being told 2 very different things. What makes it even worse is that the last time I emailed Murray (my case worker with the ministry of training, colleges and universities - MTCU) it took a month for him to get back to me. So I really did not need this. November is going to be hard enough financially, what with a week without pay because of the vacation. I called Murray and got a message saying he was out of the office until Monday. The message also gave a number of someone else to call if it was urgent... only she too was out of the office until Monday. That's helpful. I left a message for Murray and emailed both of them.

Now I get that the MTCU should have told Service Canada when the breaks were. After all I had to submit them as part of the application... so that I would still get paid during that time. But that is not my fault. And now I am caught in the bureaucratic red tape of privacy laws... Frustrating to say the least.

I decided to call EI back.... after all there was no one at the MTCU that can help me until Monday (at the earliest) and I was told 2 different things when I called EI. For all I knew Nadia was just being a bitch who didn't want to be helpful... or didn't know procedure. I've worked in the call center I know how it goes. This time I was told that it would be escalated to the local office. She even put me on hold to confirm.... and I was told to check in on Wednesday (either online or by calling in) and see what the status was. At least then I was able to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. The money will be delayed but at least it won't be on hold until the 2 government agencies decide to play nice and share information. I sincerely hope that Christmas break does not go the same way!

I was reading the paper today and on the front page it was saying that most Canadian families would be getting a cheque for $1000. But it hadn't been substantiated and they were waiting for the budget to released today. So later today I was on Yahoo and they were talking about the budget announcement. The first thing I noticed is that they were predicting the end of the recession to be in the spring of 2013. That is a pretty damn depressing thought if you ask me... Not that the government should be unrealistic and glossing over how bad things are.... but I think I was better off not knowing that they expect it to last another 4 years.

As for the cheques they are real. Families who make less then $160,000 will get up to $1000 and individuals will get $300. But before you get excited it's not all at once. It's spread out over 3 cheques, the last of which will come out in June of 2011. So one cheque per year of 1/3 of the amount that you will be receiving.

But it's not really free money... The government is trying to stimulate the economy but with the recession expects prices to rise on goods. More importantly, the big reason for this cheque is to ease of the pain of their proposed harmonization of taxes. Instead of paying 5% for the GST and 8% for PST it would be combined into one tax. So 13% tax on everything. Want to tell me that is not a cash grab? How does that benefit the consumer? There are numerous items that right now does not have PST like staples in food items, children's clothing, and books that will all be taxed at the 13% rate if this goes through. So I will get cheque for $300 but what is it really going to cost me?

Welcome to the Real World

As many of you are aware back in March I lost my job. Well technically I didn't really lose it. I know exactly where it went and why it disappeared. What you may not know, since I really didn't want it to be public knowledge, is that I was fighting back. I felt that it was unfair and that I was being targeted. Ideally I wanted my job back... but failing that I at least wanted the termination pay.

Now I did get an apology from the parent company over my treatment there but nothing else ever came of that. Then I had someone from corporate looking into it. They dealt the final death knell for any thought of getting my job back. They also refused to admit any wrong doing. But offered me the 4 weeks salary. After careful consideration I turned it down choosing instead to let the labour board make the final decision. If they decided that it was justified then I would accept that answer. But if not then it would go on record that it was a case of wrongful dismissal and the company would be held accountable.

Such noble sentiments. I have since discovered that the labour board is on the side of the employers and will look for any loophole to screw over the employee. Okay so the wrongful dismissal is not the reason for that thought. They didn't give me my raise back in February and then fired me at the end of March. I was told I couldn't claim for any additional wages. So as long as they fire you before implementing the new wages it's okay. For the longest time I had a catch-22 at work. If I took my lunch then we wouldn't meet the mandate and it would lead to disciplinary action. So I didn't take my lunch but they didn't pay me for it either. They deducted the time. And I was told that I voluntarily chose not to take my lunch. Hmm... damned if you do and not paid if you don't.

As for the whole wrongful dismissal claim.... since they had already offered me the 4 weeks pay and to change my termination to without cause that is exactly what I'll be getting. But basically they are calling it a settlement. The company will not have to admit to any wrong doing and can even try and take the righteous high ground of "Look at us. We offered to do this and didn't have to. We wanted to bring closure to the situation." But really.... if they thought they could win and not have to pay anything they would've fought me.

Life in the real world isn't quite as black and white. There are a lot of shades of grey. But the good news is that the whole saga has now come to an end... or will once I get the cheque (which could be 6 months from now). I saw it through.... no matter how many people told me that I couldn't win and that I should just stop fighting. In the end I won.

Short Lived Victory

On Monday Bill 183 finally came into effect. It meant that adoption records were unsealed and adoptees and biological parents could request that information. As I have said before this is something that most people take for granted. But for many who are adopted they have no idea and everything is a mystery. Fortunately, I have had contact with my biological mother but many others have not been so lucky. Unfortunately, just 2 days later the bill was quashed in a superior court on the grounds that it violates the guarantee to individual privacy that is a part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The child who was given up for adoption had no choice in the matter. Why are they now being denied the right to find out who they are? Where are their rights? It is not about opening up access to the general public, but only to the parties involved. As much as I don't want to see it even if they put a disclosure veto in so that individuals can request the information not be released. That would still be better then nothing. So the beginning of the week started with a high... and now it brings with it a crushing blow.

Big Brother is Watching

No I am not referring to the CBS show Big Brother. A little while ago I posted about what I would do if I was a politician. The same day I posted it I had a hit from the government. I suspect that certain keywords are flagged and they investigate any time those words are used. I'm still undecided how concerned I should be that they monitor posts... I am sure that they also monitor certain searches as well. In the post 9/11 era we are a lot more accepting of the loss of freedom and privacy. It's entirely possible that they would have been monitoring it just as much back then but we are more tolerant of it.

If I was a Politician...

There is an upcoming election in Ontario. I feel pretty apathetic towards it... much like I do every other election. My apathy isn't because I don't care who is in power it's because time and time again the things that matter to me aren't on their agenda. So I feel like I am just lost in the sea of nothingness and in the end it doesn't matter who is in power because the changes I want to see aren't going to happen no matter who wins. So what do I want?

I'll start with the one that will be on the agenda.... Improved health care. I would like to see less of a wait time at the hospital. I would also like more doctors available in private practice. As a side note I would also like to see some sort of drug plan for low-income families that has a lower deductible then the Trillium Drug Plan. Health care should be affordable by all.

Dental coverage should be affordable. It is well known that dental problems will lead to other health issues in time. There are no options available to you if your employer does not pay for dental coverage (or if you're on welfare). If it was more affordable then some of those health issues could be avoided. I know, I know.... social assistance programs and health care are already in trouble.

Create more jobs in the Ministry of Labour investigating claims. Currently it takes 6-8 months for them to even begin an investigation because of a backlog in claims. This only benefits the employer and allows them to continue violating the Employment Standards Act in the meantime. In the 6-8 months said employee may choose to seek employment elsewhere or may just give up on the claim. In cases of dismissal it is even more time sensitive. Plus in 6-8 months details may be lost, memories have faded. It can even mean reliving a painful experience. So.... hire more people and reduce that backlog.

Failing that change the law to allow you to drop your complaint beyond the two week mark and file a lawsuit. In a perfect world the 2 week time period is used to allow you to try and work things out with the employer and decide whether or not to pursue the claim. After the two weeks they begin the investigation. So it makes sense that once they have assigned someone to the case that you not be able to just drop the case in favour of legal action. But when new evidence emerges and they are backlogged in some cases it would make sense to be able to drop the complaint and file suit. This would potentially reduce at least some of the pressure from the Ministry of Labour.

Where do I even begin with student loans? Basically I think that they should adopt the 8 points from the Coalition for Student Loan Fairness. When I was in school it was more like a fairy tale. You think you're going to get this nice job when you're done so you don't think about all the debt load you are accumulating. The reality isn't quite so pretty. For one I think that the interest rate should be reduced. Assuming that I don't end up renegotiating my loan I will end up paying about $15,000 in interest over the course of my loan. Secondly, there should be more opportunities for debt reduction programs and interest relief based on hardships. They admitted to me that they do not take cost of living into account when determining whether or not you qualify for interest relief. In the last 3 years the allowable income for interest relief has also not increased to reflect inflation. If a mistake is made it is the borrower that pays, and pays heavily. I have been practically forced into bankruptcy and had my credit rating destroyed because of an error on their part. Thirdly, consolidate all the loans. Right now I have 4 different loans to keep track of and make payments on. Lastly, disability should not be limited to those which occur in the first 6 months and should not take numerous appeals. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. A disability at any point should be counted.

And now I have said my peace. with the exception of health care none of these will likely be seen in anyone's campaign. I lied... Apparently the NDP wants to implement a dental care program for those in need. The NDP are also planning to freeze tuition. Now the Liberals are increasing the funding available for student aid. That is somewhat alarming since more aid typically means more owed down the road. Now they did say that they were increasing grants and loan forgiveness... I heard that too.... and I didn't necessarily see it. They are also working at reducing wait times for certain procedures and have brought in family health teams. I still have no idea what a family health team means or does.... and I just read over the official government information. I am not sure what differences there are in plans for health care between Liberals and Conservatives other then that the latter also wants to introduce electronic records so that data can be shared more easily. Sounds good until the computer crashes. Any ways... a lot of the platforms just sound like the same old rhetoric. The parties point to the flaws from the other guys to make themselves look better and focus on the BIG issues in the media... like health care. There is no Band-Aid solution that is going to make that situation magically get better. It's not Lucky Charms here. But there are a lot of other issues that are just ignored, like the plight of former students. All I can think of now is "Magically Delicious"

Why Do I Know More Then the People Dealing with My Student Loan

I finally got around to calling the National Student Loan Centre. I really didn't want to default on my student loan and they were calling me on a daily basis. The advice I was given was to give up on the appeal and start over. I was told that my loan payments would still be in arrears and I might have to pay the interest... or at most one month's payment. But then would qualify for interest relief and could breathe easy for 5 months... at which point I will have used up all 30 months of interest relief. I don't even want to think about that though.

At one point I mentioned the loan with the Royal Bank. His response was that I should contact them to see what they can do for me... Is there anyone that works there that really knows how this works? I can't apply for interest relief through the Royal Bank because the government stepped in and determined that it would all be handled by the National Student Loans Center. Unfortunately they don't seem to know this. This has been my ongoing fight for the last year. They seem to forget that loans that were negotiated before 2000 are added to the loans with the National Student Loans Center and the two combined are used to determine the maximum allowable income. How difficult is this concept? I am also concerned that I will be approved for interest relief and it won't end up applying to the Royal Bank loan. My question is... why didn't they consolidate the loans so that I only owed one source and it was easier to work with? I guess that would be too easy now wouldn't it?

So there is some good news in there... but also some news that is a little more unsettling. I really don't have the energy to keep fighting them. It seems to take up so much time and energy each time they make a mistake. But hopefully I will at least get the 5 months with no payments. That would at least make my life a little easier at the moment. Then I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Aaagggghhhhhh

Can you tell it's been a great morning? I wake up to the superintendent banging on the door. I figure it has something to do with the letter accusing them of extortion and don't answer. 5 minutes later I hear keys in the lock and am wondering what's going on. He lets himself into the apartment and then when he realizes I am home tells me he has the wrong apartment. Since he said he was looking for bugs... what would've happened had I not been home?

So that was the first 15 minutes of my morning. I decided to check my bank balance. That might have been a mistake. When I called the National Student Loans Center last week the first thing I said was to remove automatic withdrawal so that this payment was not taken out. After all they don't give you your money back under any circumstance. Guess what? They took the payment any ways. I really don't have $300 to give to them and there is a possibility that my rent cheque will bounce now. More importantly, no matter what happens with my interest relief application I won't get that money back. It's like depositing that money into a black hole, never to be seen again. This is ridiculous. Now I have to call them again before I go to work and ask about that... and about my interest relief application. How can they screw things up this much? I think a monkey would do a better job then half of these people. Just give them a banana and they're happy.

UPDATE: The moron I spoke with last week (the one I was arguing with about whether or not my student loan with the Royal Bank counted) only turned off the automatic withdrawal on one loan payment and not both. But the guy I was speaking is processing a refund for the payment. Too bad that means I have no money for the next 3 weeks. *Sigh*

As for the interest relief they gave it to me for January but not beyond that. Apparently I have used all 30 months with the bank (or will after January) so I have to apply for extended interest relief in order to not make payments. I don't understand how the bank can be 6 months ahead of the National Student Loan Center. So that means more paper work and more hassles to get it approved. Once again, a one month reprieve and then the battle begins all over again.

Adoption Disclosure Registry

After playing phone tag with Linda from the Ministry of Community and Social Services I finally got to speak to her today. She was quick to point out that she was from the Adoption Disclosure unit which I already knew. Apparently they found my mother and wanted to confirm some information with me. They actually found her some time ago so the whole thing has been in limbo. They needed to make sure I didn't want to add any additional information in their letter to her. I guess I filled out a survey back in 2003 when they began the search. I don't remember it. So she read off what I had written. Looks good... told her to go ahead with it. She said the contact would be in the next couple of months. I'm not sure how to feel at the moment. On one hand I kind of feel for my biological mother... She is about to get a letter (at least I assume it's a letter) out of the blue. Nothing like being reminded of the child you had 28 years ago. For so long my identity has basically been a big question mark with lots of unknowns. Who am I? What were my parents like? I feel like I am so close... yet still so far away. I may come out of this knowing nothing at all... or I may learn a great deal. It's also reminiscent of Pandora's box. I have no idea what to expect or what truths there are. I do know that it's not a fairytale and am not expecting it to be perfect. The most important thing for me is that I finally get to do what I have said all along. I get the opportunity to say thank you for giving me up, for trying to give me a better life and thinking of my needs first. If that is all that happens I am okay with that.

When the Government Calls

I've decided that whenever someone from the government calls there is a certain amount of paranoia that goes with it, especially when you are not entirely sure why they are calling. Yesterday I was at work and my phone went off. The first time it was just the daily call from a telemarketer. Then it was a 416 number. Then it was Suzanne calling. I finally get a chance to listen to my messages and someone was calling from the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Before you ask I still don't know wht they actually wanted. All I know is that they called Suzanne because the number they had for me was not correct. I suspect that it has to do with my open adoption search. That's the only thing that makes any sense. I'm really curious if they do have new information.... since right now I know virtually nothing. Looks like I'll be waiting until after the holidays to find out though. Sorry Suzanne, still no news on that front.

Getting the Government Involved

A friend of mine told me not that long ago that if I contacted the MP in Peterborough I would get the interest relief approved on the grounds that I am in a low income job. Initially I was holding off since I thought my application for interest relief would be approved before the payment was taken out by the Royal Bank. And then I would just be getting someone else involved needlessly. But as soon as that payment was taken out I started work on a letter to the MP. In it I discussed the fact 10% of people that graduated the same year I did have already defaulted on their loans, broke down where my pay cheque goes, and included copies of the letter that said "rent payments, cable TV, and credit cards" can not be used to appeal the decision. Now the last two I understand... but obviously they are not taking the cost of living into consideration. Maybe it's just me but they should not be allowed to bankrupt you or cause you to be homeless so they can get their money. I want to be able to pay off my loan... I just can't. I didn't stop at the MP though. I also made a copy for the MPP, the minister of education, and the premier. I don't expect Dalton McGuinty to do anything for me... In fact I have my doubts that he will even see it. But at least I am being proactive and exploring every possible avenue to achieve some sort of resolution.

Student Loans Continued

Have I mentioned yet just how much I hate student loans??? It's an ongoing drama... I finally called them today. Now I have to call back tomorrow and appeal the decision. But as for June I am screwed because of my incentive... The company bonus for doing my job meant I made too much money that month and there is nothing I can do. Now... had they sent my forms when they were supposed to I wouldn't have been documenting that income in the first place. But now I have to spend more of my time fighting with them...

Then there was the question of how much I owed them... The notification they sent indicated that I owed them $580. I was kind of wondering where they got that number from. The terms I agreed to were paying $383.64/month. A long time ago I requested that my loan payments be reduced and then decided not to go that route since I qualified for interest relief by not reducing it. So I did not sign the forms. But apparently the payment I made (that was not reduced by the way) indicated that I accepted the terms... so ever since they have had it set to a lower amount. Took a lot to get it increased back to the original amount... and now if my appeal for interest relief is declined I owe even more money... Then I can reapply for interest relief again.

So I really am between a rock and a hard place. I have to fight them to get the interest relief for July and failing that can't just reapply. I have to make sure I get what I owe paid off first. I've already been struggling to pay bills this month because of the Royal Bank taking out the loan payments for 2 months... plus I have to make sure I have enough to pay the student loan center... And that's just to get up to date... I've got nothing for September.... And of course if I do have to make these payments then I will be behind on all my bills...

I'm also going to have to call the Royal Bank and get them to hold off on my next payment while I wait for the student loans center... They're usually pretty good about it at least.

The only good news is that I might be able to appeal for July... Then I'd only have to $320 to the student loans center (instead of $640) and would get back $220 that I paid to the Royal Bank. So I am praying that they will give me the appeal... The other good news is that September is a 3 pay month... so I will hopefully be able to get back on track as long as I qualify for interest relief effective immediately.

I am starting to wonder if university was even a worthwhile venture. I know it was... but dealing with the loans is such a nightmare. C'mon... I make $2200 gross (about $1600 net) and they seem to think I can pay off $603 a month. Give me a break. And there is no leniency. Every six months I begin a new fight with the student loans center. It would be nice if I could apply online,... or something. Since it's not always convenient for me to call. And it's not like I get the forms, or notifications quickly. I am still not receiving mail here, although that should be changing in the next week. In the last month I have not received any of my credit card bills... or my cable bill. And while I don't mind not paying them I do find that kind of odd.

Either way I guess there is no end in sight for this saga... I've lost track of how many times I have had to call and try and get the interest relief approved. And I can't believe that they did reduce my payments without my authorization... If I'm not mistaken I paid them and then called to request the payments be reduced... Guess it really is part of the government... *Sigh* Can't this process ever go smoothly?