The Manitoba government’s newest cheques will soon be in the mail

New cheques to help eligible Manitobans deal with a higher cost of living will soon be in the mail.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Finance Minister Cliff Cullen said the cheques were being printed this week, and that they will start to be mailed out next week.

“It may take several weeks for them all to be delivered,” the spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “To allow as many eligible Manitobans to receive the payment, we extended our online portal – this allowed individuals whose address has changed since they filed their last income taxes (for the 2021 tax year) to update their address so cheques would be delivered correctly and in a timely manner.”

The cheques, called the Carbon Tax Relief Fund, were announced on Jan. 26. They will be issued to people who filed a 2021 tax return who have a net family income of $175,000 or less. Single people will receive a payment of $225, while couples will receive $375.

The announcement of the cheques were criticized by the provincial NDP, who said the province was trying to score political points.

The funding follows an initiative to send cheques to Manitobans in the fall of 2022.

-With files from The Canadian Press