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Family of nine is not a statistic
Homegrown
By Stephanie Stevens
Every now and then, something comes along that makes me want to charge forward into war, shrieking like a Viking berserker.
But to be an objective journalist, my head has to reign over my heart.
A journalist, when writing a news story, must put aside emotion, set aside all personal opinion, and represent, to the best of his or her ability, all sides of the story, no matter how distasteful that may be.
But lucky for me, there is a realm called ‘The Opinion Piece.’
This is when I can go from being a cold, clinical journalist, to a feeling, opinionated columnist. And I can say exactly what I am feeling.
And right now, I am angry. Heartbroken. Furious. I want to take up my sword.
There is a family in the Columbia Valley that has been in an on-going battle with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
This is not a new story. Nor is it an unusual one. Many have had to go toe-to-toe with the CRA for a variety of reasons.
But this family came within a hair’s breadth of being evicted this week, in winter, with seven children. And they had to seriously consider, for the sake of their children, giving them up to the foster system to ensure they are warm, fed and safe. A parent’s love means they will rip out their heart if they must to protect their children. And that is exactly what having to give them up would have done.
And this is not to paint the landlords as evil; far from it. They have to pay the mortgage on the house they rent. And they have been as supportive as they can be. But at some point they have to look out for themselves as well.
I am not talking about a family who is not trying their best. I am not talking about a family that does not want to work. I am not talking about a family on social assistance with no desire to get off of it, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes (neither of which, incidentally, enters their household).
I am talking about a family whose mom stays at home to care for the children, ages ranging from 10 months to 16 years, and does whatever she can from home to make money. It is a family whose father works full time. A family who has pulled together in every way they can to make it work. A family who, up until last fall when faced with their children literally going hungry, would not even ask for help from the community.
In a nutshell, because of this ongoing battle with the CRA, during which their child tax subsidy was halted in February 2016, this family of nine is in a storm from which there seems to be little respite. They have to find a way to prove that during a one-year separation in 2015, he was living out of his car in order to give any money he made to support his children, rather than waste it on something as frivolous as proper shelter for himself. And they have to prove that the children were living with her.
How precisely do you ensure you can prove these things if you have no idea you would ever have to? And how far into the mire of degradation and humiliation do they have to drag themselves to do so?
They worked hard to become a family again, to work through their marital problems and remain whole. They made the move to B.C. from Alberta for a fresh start.
Yet CRA persists in their demands. And with each passing month, the bills, which have already added up to many thousands of dollars, keep growing, crushing the hope of catching up.
The story is long, and it will come to light with more detail. It is not a tale of tax evasion. It is not a tale of bilking the system. It is not a story of not bothering to work and asking for handouts instead.
It is a story of our government taking away a source of income that nearly all Canadian families receive and many rely on to help make ends meet.
I have come to know this family. I have seen them remain positive in a situation that would have brought many of us to our knees. I watched the oldest son, at 16, take whatever job he could to help his family, trying to lift a little of that weight off his parents’ shoulders.
I have seen this family’s father working hard, giving his all to make ends meet.
I have seen them standing strong together.
And now I am watching as they are being torn apart.
The impending eviction has been avoided. For now.
But that does not solve the problem at hand. Rent cannot be late or one penny short again. And that is only one of life’s daily expenses. Food, heat, clothing for children that seem to grow out of everything so fast, car insurance so whomever is earning can get to work.
A small respite in a growing storm.
I mentioned they waited until they could not wait any longer to ask for help. And I am encouraging them to ask for help again. Fundraising accounts are everywhere, and it is hard to see yet another. But if they do not reach out, take this humbling step and find a way, this family may cease to be a family.
They will become a statistic.
I cannot watch that happen and say nothing. They are not going to give up. They are not going to give in.
But at what point does it become too much?
I am hoping this column is read and shared widely. I hope our local elected officials, those who are here to help their citizens, our Member of Parliament Wayne Stetski in particular, read this and find a way to help.
The CRA must make the effort to resolve this.
Their names are Darrah and Devin Dunn. And they are not a statistic.
A gofundme account has been established to help the family.
