These Islanders say the CRA wants them to repay thousands from emergency COVID-19 benefit

Islanders who received money from the federal government's COVID-19 emergency benefit say they're surprised to be getting emails and letters claiming they owe the Canada Revenue Agency thousands of dollars. 

The federal government introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the early days of COVID-19. The benefit was created for Canadians facing financial hardship due to the pandemic, including those who had reduced hours at work or a complete loss of employment. 

Eligible Canadians received $2,000 per month starting in March of 2020. But some people say they were put on CERB without knowing, including emergency room nurse Donna Lee Cole. 

Cole said she didn't apply for CERB. She said in April 2020, she applied for medical employment insurance after fracturing two bones in her hand. As a nurse, she said she couldn't work with the injury and was off work for five weeks.

When she received a CERB payment, she said she thought it was a mistake because she thought she wasn't eligible for the emergency benefit.

"I said, 'I'm supposed to be getting medical EI,' and their response was that everybody's getting CERB now," Cole said. "I wasn't sure what else to do at that point."

Cole was surprised when she received a notice of debt from the Canada Revenue Agency.

"I did get an email initially saying that I was going to have to repay and I thought that was a scam," she said.

In a statement, the CRA said the government "worked swiftly" to provide Canadians with financial help, which resulted in a rushed, advance payment of $2,000, to "get money into the pockets of Canadians as quickly as possible."

That included an advanced payment of $2,000, which was deducted from subsequent CERB claims. 

CRA said these deductions "reconciled the CERB payments for more than one million clients," but some returned to work or no longer claimed the benefit while these deductions were made.

In mid-November of 2021, Service Canada began sending notices to Canadians who owe money because of that advance payment. 

In a statement, CRA said, "in order to prevent causing undue hardship, flexible repayment options are available by contacting the Canada Revenue Agency."

Cole isn't the only Islander CBC News spoke with who received what they say was a surprising notice of debt.