Canadians waiting to have their CERB eligibility status reviewed may still lose money to clawbacks
CBC
Canadians who may have received pandemic benefits by mistake are allowed to ask for a review of their eligibility status — but they might see their tax refunds or other benefits withheld by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) while they wait for a decision.
The CRA has sent over one million notices to Canadians it says received pandemic benefits — such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) — for which they weren't eligible.
The CRA has resumed efforts to recover the money through a process it calls "offsetting," which means that it automatically uses money from tax refunds and some benefits to settle a person's debt with the government.
Those who believe they were eligible for the pandemic benefits they received and want to challenge their status can ask the agency for a review. But a number of Canadians say that while they've been waiting for a final decision, the CRA has withheld their tax refunds or other government benefits.
"I think that what the government is doing to people, especially people like me, is disgusting," said Maxine Malamud of Montreal.
Malamud said she applied for the CERB when she was out of work during the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, she said, she was injured in an accident that has made it extremely difficult for her to walk.
She said that when she applied and was approved for the federal disability tax credit last fall, she found out she owed the CRA $40,000 for CERB payments the government said she received by mistake.
"I'm not going to see any of it. Not a penny of that, because of this money [that] they're claiming from me that they state I was not eligible to receive," Malamud said. "And that's not true. I was eligible."
Malamud said she contacted the CRA and was told she could ask for a review of her status, as long as she could prove she earned more than $5,000 in the 12 months leading up to the pandemic.
Malamud said that since she gathered the relevant documents and mailed them to the agency, she hasn't heard of any progress on her case. In the meantime, she said, the government is still holding back her tax benefits.
The CRA said it's unable to say how many Canadians have asked for reviews of their cases. It said roughly $237 million of COVID-19 benefit debt has been collected through offsetting.
"It's sort of guilty until proven innocent as opposed to innocent until proven guilty," said Michael Thomson of Moncton, N.B.
Thomson said his wife received notice that she owed $2,000 in CERB money she received last year. She challenged her eligibility status but has been waiting months for a final decision. The CRA withheld her tax refund this year, Thomson said.
"There's a frustration at the bureaucracy and the inadequacy of the system," he said.
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