Over 1,000 Canadians took CRA to court over COVID-19 benefits
Global News
The government's subsequent attempts to claw back pandemic funds from those it now deems ineligible set the stage for more than 1,000 battles in Federal Court.
In late 2021, Tressa Mitchell was dealing with doctor’s appointments for her ailing mother when she got a call from the Canada Revenue Agency seeking information to verify her eligibility for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mitchell, who has a lung condition, took time off work as a cashier in Saskatchewan. Like thousands of Canadians, she collected CERB for several months during the global public health crisis.
The rollout of the pandemic relief payments saw billions doled out to individuals and businesses on a pay-now-ask-questions-later basis.
But the verification process was far from perfect.
The government’s subsequent attempts to claw back pandemic funds from those it now deems ineligible set the stage for more than 1,000 battles in Federal Court between claimants and the Canada Revenue Agency.
A review of dozens of such cases show many involve self-represented litigants, in what one law professor described as “profoundly unequal” contests against the legal might of the federal government.
But some, against the odds, have won.
Self-represented litigants who won another review of their cases have included an Ontario hospitality worker who demonstrated his joblessness was related to the pandemic by showing he went through three interviews for an airport position just before COVID-19’s onset.
