Such is the surge of British Columbians applying for the new BC Recovery Benefit that the government’s website keeps crashing.
Hundreds of people have taken to social media, minutes after the site opened for applications, to express their frustration at not being able to access the page.
The BC Recovery Benefit is a one-time, tax-free payment of up to $1,000 for eligible families and single parents, and up to $500 for eligible individuals.
An estimated 3.7 million individuals and families, or 90% of all B.C. adults, are eligible for the benefit, according to a media release.
Twitter was flooded with angry tweets from people complaining about the difficulties they had been through while trying to access to the website.
A Twitter user called “BC Premier’s Meme Team” wrote: Maybe @jjhorgan should spend the money he receives from the Recovery Benefit on a better website.”
While Pinkiicecream1 wrote: “Mine too. It was like booking a camping spot at BC Parks' website. A lot of people are trying their luck to get in.”
And @Ahimsaka opined: “It's a bad policy and it's not a surprise that a site would crash after telling a million+ households to come get $1000.”
Here's my BC Recovery Benefit experience in full, glorious video. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/22gQYj19bg
— Ryan Mitton (@rmttn) December 18, 2020
Do not be alarmed. This is not a test. #BCRecoveryBenefit pic.twitter.com/4OFpKVQinS
— Paul Barriscale (@BossFanVan) December 18, 2020
The government is now warning people that it could take some time to get through, given the volume of people trying to log on.
“Call volumes, web traffic and delays with banking institutions may result in longer wait times during the first few weeks of the benefit,” the province warned.
