A Pickering man says he and his wife are still waiting to be paid after working during the federal election in April.
Azmat, who asked us not to give out his last name, reached out to Speakers Corner for help as he is seeking answers.
“They need a lot of manpower, and we were available and wanted to do our duty as citizens to serve as Canadians. It was also a good opportunity to interact and learn about the election process as well,” he said.
The couple said they assisted during past elections without issues. However, after they went through paid training and worked more than 12 hours on election day, they said they grew concerned after hearing from other election workers that they received payment.
“Everybody got paid, but we didn’t. So we then questioned our manager, asking if they could look into it and they said they would,” Azmat said.
He said the conversation was months ago and since then, Azmat has been making calls and sending emails to Elections Canada. Azmat said he was told payments were sent out to a bank account number they claimed he and his wife submitted when they applied.
“They said, ‘We have deposited your pay in your account.’ I said, ‘I never chose that option to deposit in the bank account.’ I chose to have a physical cheque sent like I have done in the past,” he said.
“I again follow up and then they come back to me and they say, ‘Oh, we have to recover your money first. Until then, you’re not going to get paid.’”
Azmat said he asked Elections Canada to perform a trace to find out where the money ended up, but added they haven’t told him the results.
“I am just thinking they are the ones who made the mistake, not us. There are some deficiencies in their systems, so why are they holding somebody else’s pay?” he said.
Elections Canada didn’t give CityNews an official statement despite numerous requests, citing privacy issues.
But after we made a request for comment, Azmat said he received a call from Elections Canada. He said he was there was a promise to address his case and work to get answers.
At the time of publication, the pair said they’re still waiting for their payment.
“This is not about the money, but since this happened my other objective is just to give the awareness,” Azmat said.
“Elections Canada has to review their processes. If the errors are made, then they have to take the right action to correct them.”
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