Rules keep needy B.C. kids from affordable eyeglasses
Province won't allow subsidized parents to buy less expensive glasses online
By Kathy Tomlinson CBC News
Posted: Sep 24, 2012 2:07 AM PT
A single father is speaking out about rules that prevent him and thousands of other low income B.C. residents from getting subsidized, affordable eyeglasses.
“There shouldn’t be any [government] restriction on where to buy glasses,” said Chris Van Dyke. “There must be many, many children and elderly that are living without the proper eyewear.”
Van Dyke is raising his teenage son and daughter alone, on a fixed income. The province gives subsidies — between $118 and $179 per pair — to needy families for glasses, but recipients have to pay the difference in price out of their own pockets.
“The quotes I got in store were between $750 to $1,000 dollars for glasses for all three of us,” said Van Dyke. “It means the difference between going further into debt. Putting groceries on the table.”
He wanted to buy online instead from a Vancouver-based company that quoted him one-third what other retailers did. However, the government won’t allow him to use his subsidies for online purchases.
see all of it -----------------------> http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...sssubsidy.html
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