B.C.’s Premier says the province’s one time payment of a $1,000 for people who are unable to work because of COVID-19 will be rolling out next month.

John Horgan admits there have been challenges in rolling out benefits to some people, but he says the government is adapting as best it can.

“When it comes to the rent supplements, I know we’ve issued thousands of the cheque’s to assist renters, but there’s more to do and we’ve got another month coming up,” said Horgan.

“We’re working with BC housing to make sure that that system works effectively, and there are going to be challenges, but I’m hopeful that people will continue to have patience and we’ll get dollars into people’s hands as quickly as we possibly can.”

Applications for the one-time tax-free emergency payment will open on May 1, according to the province. The government expects money to begin flowing within days of people applying, but admits there may be minor delays during the initial surge of applications.

Horgan says both the provincial and federal governments are retooling how the deliver benefits to people on the fly during the pandemic.

“Normally, we provide services,” he added. “There are cheques for certain activities and now we’re expanding that, the federal government is expanding that and so we’re working as best we can, re-tooling our own systems internal to government to make sure that we can provide a service that we’ve never provided before.”

Both of the benefits are part of the province’s $5-billion aid package that was announced one month ago.