Ex-Saint John jail guard with PTSD sees Old Age Security cut

A post-traumatic stress disorder patient says she survived 27 years working at the Saint John jail, but she may be defeated by the federal bureaucracy that's holding back her Old Age Security pension, thanks to a one-time workers' compensation payment.

"I'm going to have to eat cat food," says Joanne Graham, a 66-year-old grandmother, who says she's fallen behind on her rent. 

In 2003, a psychiatrist diagnosed Graham with post-traumatic stress disorder.

By then, she says, she'd seen it all: a cell floor covered in blood from a suicide attempt, epithets written in human feces, self-mutilation by inmates, as well as perpetual fights, threats and aggression.

"You're on high alert, all the time, all the time, all the time. And if you're not, you shouldn't be in the building," says Graham, who retired from the correctional centre in 2011.

In March 2014, Graham won a lump sum payment from the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal, which restored PTSD benefits retroactive to 2008.

According to the panel's written decision, Graham's representative had argued that four medical opinions found she continued to suffer from PTSD and was due compensation for medications and treatments. 

As a result, she says she got a single deposit of $70,798.86 on June 18, 2014. The Canada Revenue Agency states that workers' compensation benefits are non-taxable. 

Nevertheless, Graham says the agency has made her pay a price.  

The federal tax agency did move to withhold $553 from her Old Age Security pension, reducing her monthly payment to $7.65.

Graham says she has tried to get help but can't get through to anyone. 

'Shame on the bureaucracy'

"Shame on the bureaucracy," says injured workers' advocate Tom Barron.

Barron said these benefits, under the Workers' Compensation Act, are not taxable income. 

"It's WorkSafeNB that has the knowledge and understanding to assist those workers navigate their economic crisis," he said.

Graham says she's already spent all the money that was supposed to make up for lost years of benefits for treatment and medical costs.

After paying off debts and giving $17,000 to her daughter, she says she bought a Toyota Yaris with cash and purchased a bedroom set. 

"And then it was gone," says Graham.

She does receive her work pension and CPP, monthly deposits that amount to $1,616.80 going into her bank account.

But she says it's not enough to live on and she shouldn't have to.    

Todd Nice, former owner of Nice Cash, a cash-checking service in Saint John, says he's tried to help Graham navigate the system but hasn't had any luck.

He says the problem may work itself out, when she files her next income tax return. 

Then it should be clear to the federal government that she's not over the $72,809 income threshold that affects Old Age Security benefits.

Completing and processing that return, could take many more months and Graham says she doesn't know how she'll get by until then.