Horgan still "targeting Christmas" for $1,000 payout to British Columbians
After BC Premier John Horgan recently said that he couldn’t “guarantee” that British Columbians would receive the $1,000 COVID-relief payout promised during his election campaign, Horgan changed his tune this week, saying he is “still targeting Christmas” for the payout.
The party has promised a one-time $1,000 payment to families with an annual household income below $125,000 – with a sliding scale up to $175,000, or a $500 direct deposit to single people earning less than $62,000 annually – with a sliding scale up to $87,000.
Horgan made the comments during a press conference, in which he announced that the BC legislature would resume on December 7, with the payout at the forefront of the discussion.
“We need to appropriate the resources to distribute the money…and then it’s up to the ministry of finance to distribute those, based on the criteria that was laid out during the campaign, and will, of course, be laid out in any legislation that we bring forward,” he said. “Then, we’ll distribute those dollars by direct deposit is the intention.”
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Horgan said he’s “pretty confident that should we get through the legislative session quickly in a week or so, we’ll be able to get those deposits done shortly thereafter.”
And while he’s “targeting Christmas of course,” Horgan said he believes that “at this extraordinary time, British Columbians will be happy to have access to $1000 bucks for their family, or $500 for individuals whether it comes on December 24, or it comes on the 5th of January.”
According to the NDP, the one-time payment is meant to help “ease the financial impact of COVID-19 for people in British Columbia who have been hit the hardest.”