Michel René de Cotret says the issue isn’t necessarily about the money. It’s about not getting answers.
As a teacher in Ottawa for 29 years, patience and persistence were invaluable skills for Michel René de Cotret as he worked with students and sometimes battled school board bureaucracy.
Those talents have come in handy again during the past month as de Cotret has dealt with endless red tape and confusion involving the Ontario government’s $200 rebate cheques.
“Frustration is a polite word,” he said.
For René de Cortet, 75, the runaround began when a cheque for his deceased wife arrived in late February. She passed away last year.
Unclear on what exactly to do with that cheque — he had previously gone through the emotional pain of cancelling her health card, licence and other documents — he approached his financial advisor at a Bank of Montreal branch.
“I asked him if I could cash this cheque and he said, ‘No,’” René de Cotret said.
From there, René de Cotret reached out to John Fraser, who serves as his Liberal MPP in Ottawa South. According to Fraser’s office, other constituents have experienced similar issues with the rebate cheques.
Fraser’s office passed on René de Cotret’s information to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, asking if they could help. In turn, the government passed on the email of a governmental contact, through Fraser’s office, to René de Cotret.
“I was told that person wasn’t available,” René de Cotret said. “They gave me another number to call and told me to get in touch with that person.”
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His ire growing, he then penned a letter that was published in the Ottawa Citizen, outlining the inaction and lack of clarity.
“There was another person in my condo building with the same issue,” he said. “Their mother had died, but they also got a cheque. Other people I know hadn’t received a cheque at all. All of this is happening while I’m trying to get everything with my wife sorted out. I’m cancelling things. I’m getting her name taken off mailing lists. It’s hard enough that she died.”
René de Cotret says the issue isn’t necessarily about the money. It’s about not getting answers.
“It just seems so ridiculous as to who gets it and who doesn’t. It’s so confusing. I volunteer at a soup kitchen (in Sandy Hill),” he said. “I just want to give the cheque to them. I’m well enough off. I have a home and a pension, but, when you work in a soup kitchen, you really do get to see how badly off some people are.”
After the provincial election on Feb. 27, when the Progressive Conservatives led by Doug Ford were re-elected, Fraser’s office reached out again. Another government official asked for the name and date of birth of his wife, which René de Cotret sent off.
“Nothing happened,” he said.
After hearing his story, the Citizen reached out to the Ontario government.
According to Scott Blodget, a senior media-relations officer in the Finance Department’s communication branch, the cheque issued to the deceased wife of René de Cotret was not a mistake.
Blodget said the rebate cheques were going out to anyone who filed tax returns for 2023, including those who died in 2024. He also said the cheques were mailed out to the names and addresses on file with the Canadian Revenue Agency as of October 2024.
But why would a bank officer not be aware of that? Why would René de Cotret be advised not to cash the cheque?
“While processes at different financial institutions may vary, (in order) to cash the cheque for a deceased person, the estate representative would have to bring proof of death to a bank,” Blodget said.
“Individuals having issues cashing their cheques should contact their institution (bank, credit union) directly to identify and troubleshoot issues.”
On March 11, after the Citizen reached out to the Ontario government, René de Cotret received a call from the Finance Ministry explaining all of the above.
He went back to the Bank of Montreal branch, armed with a death certificate, and talked to the bank manager, who confirmed that he could indeed deposit the cheque.
“I still had an estate account open,” he said. “It’s just frustrating that not everybody at the banks would know what this is all about.”
He has since sent the money to the soup kitchen where he volunteers.
“It’s a $200 cheque and some of our guests at the soup kitchen could use that money,” he said. “They’re living on the streets and I don’t know if they’re getting cheques.”
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