PopGoesTheNews.com • Canada, you're richer than you think.
Hundreds of payments issued to the federal government have evidently never been deposited into the public purse, according to data from the Bank of Canada. PopGoesTheNews.com has learned that more than $240,000 sent by Canadians to the Receiver General and Canada Revenue Agency in the late '90s alone is currently sitting unclaimed by the feds.
When a certified cheque or bank draft is issued, the funds are taken out of the payer's account and held by their bank. If the cheque hasn't been deposited by the payee within 10 years, the funds are transferred to the Bank of Canada, a Crown corporation. Payees can claim the funds by presenting the original cheque or taking an oath.
Among the payments made to the Receiver General is $3,301.50 issued in August 1991 by pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb and $1,594.75 paid to Canada Revenue Agency in July 1993 by The Highland Inn in Osoyoos, BC.
The vast majority of payments – ranging from $2.11 to $9,600 – came from individuals. Amounts over $1,000 are held by the Bank of Canada for 100 years and those under $1,000 for 30 years.
Among the monies that never reached the accounts of the Receiver General are $1,000 from Toronto law firm Blake Cassels & Graydon, which issued certified cheque No. 0300002012 in July 1994, and a total of $190 from law firm Baker & McKenzie paid by three separate certified cheques in July 1992 and May and July of 1993. Certified cheque No. 459090 for $250, issued in August 1990 by Vancouver law firm Edwards Kenny & Bray was never processed. Vacheresse & Associates Consulting, a Vancouver legal services firm specializing in immigration cases, sent the Receiver General certified cheque No. 491693 for $550 in April 1993.
Fileco Limited Partnership, a records management and document shredding company in Concord, Ont., sent the Canada Revenue Agency a certified cheque for $886.22 in December 1992 that was never processed. In February 1992, the West Coast Crab Bar in Tofino, BC sent the taxman $141.19 that remains unclaimed.
The Bank of Canada does not charge a fee to search its records nor to make claims so it's not clear why the government hasn't collected funds that have been held by the Bank of Canada for a decade or longer.
