Hundreds of Ottawans receiving social assistance and support to people with disabilities have sometimes been late for checks or wrong amounts, due to a computer problem, CBC News has learned.
Last November, the Ontario government asked the cities, including Ottawa, to change their records management system for new software, called SAMS, which was supposed to simplify operations. However, the latter rather knows many technical glitches.
Responsible social and community services, Marlynne Ferguson, writing in internal emails from the City of Ottawa obtained by CBC, the transition to the new system had “many failures.”
In another Internet correspondence, we learn that municipal employees are “frustrated”, “stressed” and “tired”. Some workers have even absent.
Beneficiaries also lose patience. This is the case of Charlotte Taylor, who says his life has been turned upside down by computer problems.
“It does not stop to happen and it stresses me. It makes me anxious. »
– Charlotte Taylor, service
Each month, Taylor normally receives $ 700 from Ontario Works to pay his rent and groceries. But his last two checks were late.
“I was angry,” she says. “I had to call my own again [...] and I felt in his voice that he was not happy this time. »
Costly problems for the City
Social assistance recipients are not the only ones to bear the brunt of the problems with the new software. The advisor Bay neighborhood and Deputy Mayor Mark Taylor says that employees have to work late at night and weekends to catch up.
The costs associated with overtime swell visibly and exceed $ 25,000 per week. If problems persist, the Municipality may have to pay a total bill of $ 4 million at the end of the year.
Taylor also hopes the province will compensate the City of Ottawa for cost overruns.
The backlog of cases has increased from 141 to 12, to 19 March.
According to a report from CBC
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