CRA says it's owed $10 billion in COVID-related benefits sent to ineligible recipients
CBC
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Edmonton-based country singer Patrick Masse, like millions of other Canadians, applied for relief benefits.
All the gigs he'd lined up were abruptly cancelled.
"I had really good projected earnings for that year, right? But then everything bottomed out when the world dropped," said Masse.
From April 2020 to June 2022, Masse received more than $41,000 in government benefits — only to later get a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency saying he wasn't eligible for the money, and that he had to pay it back.
According to the CRA, Masse did not meet the minimum net earnings of $5,000.
"I was stunned. I couldn't believe it," said Masse. "I would have never applied for anything that I did not qualify for."
In early 2024, after months of back and forth, the CRA agreed he was entitled to some of the money. But he remains on the hook for about $27,000.
"I don't have the money; I have no money. I live in poverty ... I can't afford to lose $27,000," said Masse.
He's far from alone. According to data the CRA provided to CBC News, about $14 billion in COVID-related benefits was given to individuals that the agency says, upon review, didn't qualify because they didn't meet the income requirements.
Most of that money was given under the Canadian emergency response benefit (CERB) or Canada recovery benefit (CRB), the latter a $2,000/month payment for those forced to stop working during the pandemic and couldn't get EI.
In 2022, the CRA begin informing people that a repayment was due. Since then, it's recouped about $4 billion. But $10 billion is still outstanding.
In a statement to CBC News, the CRA said it's sensitive to the financial pressures facing Canadians but that it will take action against those trying to avoid repayment.
The agency says that could mean legal measures to recover the debt, including "offsetting refunds and future credits and garnishing wages or other sources of income."
Brian Mantin, a licensed insolvency trustee in Vancouver, says he sees clients every week trying to resolve their pandemic repayments. Mantin said the CRA's approach was initially lenient but "in the last few months, I've seen that approach change pretty significantly."
The national RCMP union is criticizing what it calls a "misleading" report that urges Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government to continue steps to ditch the Mounties.
Toronto police said a man is in custody in connection with a suspected arson at a federal government office building in North York Monday.
Yellowknife RCMP say that no one was seriously injured after an allegedly impaired driver rammed her car into and through the front entrance of the Explorer Hotel on Christmas Eve.
Members of a Canadian delegation that was denied entry to the West Bank earlier this month are calling on Ottawa to tighten sanctions targeting new Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
Vendors at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market are coming together for a one-time pop-up event this week after a fire forced the market to close indefinitely.
Many people associate Calgary's warm chinook winds with the onset of headaches, but experts say the science behind the correlation remains unclear.
Seabridge Gold says it plans to spin out its large but somewhat sidelined Courageous Lake gold project in the Northwest Territories into a new standalone company named Valor Gold, subject to regulatory approvals.
Sitting in Ottawa's Rainbow Bistro, preparing for his band to play a gig, former MP Charlie Angus was reflecting on the past year. His plan to quietly retire and write a book turned into creating viral videos viewed around the world and a cross-Canada tour to fight Donald Trump.
This fall, the Alberta government invoked the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work.
Plunging temperatures and strong winds are causing power outages in northern sections of the GTA Monday, following a storm system that brought night of heavy rain.
Bundle up, Londoners—meteorologists say Monday's fresh blast of winter weather is but the beginning of what's expected to be a highly active season to come.
A man in his 80s is dead following a fire at a North York retirement residence, according to first responders.
Every other Monday at 9 a.m., Don Hladiuk joins a Zoom call with a group of 30 to 45 students. They are eager to learn about space and astronomy, which Hladiuk is more than willing to talk about.