'Anyone who is found to be ineligible for the CERB… will be required to repay the amounts if they haven't already done so'
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had fired nearly 300 employees for inappropriately claiming payments from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
As of June 17, 2024, the government agency has found 289 employees who received CERB payments when they were ineligible, according to a report from CTV News.
"Anyone who is found to be ineligible for the CERB, including CRA employees who inappropriately applied for and received it, will be required to repay the amounts if they haven’t already done so," said Charles Drouin, CRA spokesperson, according to the report.
That number is up from 232 that the employer let go as of earlier this year.
Who is eligible to receive CERB payments?
The CERB provided financial support to employed and self-employed Canadians who were directly affected by COVID-19. The benefit provided Canadians with $2,000 for a four-week period.
The benefit was available to workers:
- who are residing in Canada, who were at least 15 years old
- who stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19 or were eligible for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits or have exhausted their Employment Insurance regular benefits or Employment Insurance fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020
- who had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application, and
- who did not quit their job voluntarily
Overall, the CRA is investigating about 600 workers who may have taken advantage of CERB even though they were ineligible.
The CRA also clarified that not all workers who received the CERB while employed are ineligible.
"Being a current employee of the CRA does not necessarily mean an individual was ineligible for the CERB,” Drouin said in the CTV News report. “As the CRA employs individuals with a variety of employment profiles such as temporary and student contracts, some individuals were eligible to receive the CERB. As a result of this process, as of August 23, 2024, 135 employees have been found to be eligible so far.”
The CRA also stated that it “takes any form of wrongdoing very seriously, and is strongly committed to protecting the integrity of Canada’s tax and benefit systems”.
“The actions of some should in no way undermine the honesty and integrity of the thousands of CRA employees who work every day in an exemplary manner to serve Canadians,” said Drouin.
In 2020, the CRA sent letters to 213,000 people who may have applied for the emergency benefit both through the CRA and Service Canada, and received the benefit twice. The letter informed citizens that they have to repay government benefits if they were paid twice through the CERB.
In 2022, Canada's auditor general reported that of the estimated $211 billion in COVID-19 aid that the federal government provided, $4.6 billion in overpayments were made to people who were ineligible to receive those funds, noted CTV News.
