Hook, Open Line, and Sinker

Is Bill Rowe a journalist, or does he just play one on the radio?

In his latest collection of listener-email rants — the Republic of Newfoundland's former Ambassador to Canada is too busy these days to write his own rants, and has been for months — Rowe reproduces this old canard:

Do not apply for your old age pension. Apply to be a refugee. It is interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00.

This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!

Blah, blah, blah. Outrageous, maybe.

If it were true.

WHICH IT ISN'T.

This piece of net.lore has been circulating for far too long. Next thing you know, Ambassador Rowe will be posting emails about the impending approach of Mars to Earth, Bill 602P, the email tax, MPs-are-all-crooks, or any one of a zillion other email hoaxes that have been gathering suckers ever since, well, since those same suckers stopped being taken in by fax hoaxes. (What came before fax hoaxes?)

The "pensioners better off as refugees" nonsense has been debunked repeatedly. Like here. And here. AND ESPECIALLY HERE.

A responsible media personality would withdraw this piece of false news immediately.

A really responsible one would never have published it in the first place.