Thank you for calling.....

I love call display. We have just recently added this feature to our phone bill and I have thoroughly enjoyed screening all of those pesky sales calls that used to trap me prior to this glorious feature.





Well, imagine my surprise today when across the screen of the cordless phone were the words 'Government of Canada'. For a moment I thought it might be Steven Harper calling me himself, and I guess technically it was. Either way, I wasn't prepared to pick up the phone and let the call go straight to voice mail. If Mr. Harper really wanted to talk to me, he could leave a message like the rest of the world. Moments later, the words 'Voicemail' appeared on the display. I guess Mr. Harper had something he actually wanted to say to me. My good friend was over visiting and we conspired as to the nature of the call. Maybe it's a courtesy call thanking me for starting a new small business in Ontario. According to my friend, that was highly unlikely. The government's not really all that concerned about customer service, unless there is an election. Maybe that's it. Perhaps Mr. Harper is calling me to find out what I think of his fake lake, new tax structure and views on women's health.



As I punched in the password to collect my messages I held my breath. "Hello Jennifer, this is Nadia calling from Employment Insurance, can you please call me back at our toll free number?Thank you."



Gulp. Whatever they wanted, I was sure it wasn't going to be good news.



I was right.



Several weeks ago I met with my employer to tell them that I would not be returning to my position following the end of my maternity leave. They took it well, were dissapointed, but understood and supported my decision.



A few weeks after the meeting I checked my bank account only to find a large sum of money had been deposited. Hooray! Aren't I lucky? A mini windfall to boost the family's savings up as we head into our new business venture. I quickly moved the money to a savings account and did a money dance.



All is good.



And then came the phone call.



My employer being so totally on the ball had paid out my vacation pay, nice. Except that it screwed up my final EI payments. Not nice. You see, you can't earn extra money while you are receiving EI. If you do, then they deduct the amount from your assistance.



Crap.



So lovely Nadia gave me two options. I can a) continue receiving the final EI payments and then pay the government back or b) end payments immediately as the balance I would owe equals the amount I would receive for the final payment. How convenient.



I thought about the option for a split second and decided to part ways immediately with the government.



I know a few things in life, one of them is not to owe the government money. The other is not to mess with a Sicialian when death is on the line.