The federal government had to cancel at least $246 million in debt, which affects thousands of Canadians. Initially, the government claimed that these people had received pandemic relief payments for which they were not eligible.
Since 2022, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been collecting payments from Canadians who the government says have mistakenly received benefits such as the Canada Emergency Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB).
The government has been withholding tax refunds and other benefits to recover payments made to individuals who are "not eligible to receive them." The Canada Revenue Agency told CBC News that by the end of last year, the agency had recovered about $1.8 billion in erroneous pandemic grants.
But many Canadians have disputed the government's assessment of their eligibility to receive these benefits, and hundreds have even taken the government to court.
As of April, the Canada Revenue Agency has written off the debts of about 27,000 people who were initially deemed ineligible but were later verified to be eligible.
These figures only include pandemic grants administered by the CRA. Part of the CERB program is administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which told CBC News that it does not track how much benefit debt it has forgiven.
Toronto tax attorney Cris Best said he wasn't surprised by the number of debt cancellations. He said he had received letters from several Canadians who felt they had been unfairly targeted for eligibility screening.
"There's no doubt that there are a lot of inconsistencies," he said. ”
Canadians who have received a notice from the government that their disqualification has been disqualified can request two reviews of their case. After that, they can only appeal through the courts.
Once a preliminary decision has been made, it is difficult to argue with the Canada Revenue Agency (CA) because "there is reverse liability in the tax law," Best said.
He said, "You are essentially sinful until you are innocent. ”
"The CRA can basically assume the facts, and that's what they do, and then the taxpayer puts the onus on those facts to refute them," he said...... It's not a very fair fight. ”
Some are frustrated with the review process
Jason Harth said he experienced the difficulties of dealing with CRA while trying to help his daughter defend her case.
Commenting on the review process, he said: "It was a mess. ”
The Cambridge, Ontario resident said his daughter applied for CERB when she was laid off during the pandemic. About nine months later, she found a new job.
But about a year later, Harth said his daughter began receiving notices that her eligibility was being reviewed. He helped his daughter with the proper documentation to prove that she was eligible.
Harth said that after working with the CRA, they found out that his daughter had received a few more CERB payments and agreed to pay them back.
But when the final notification was received a few weeks later, he said, the results of the eligibility assessment were quite the opposite. The results of the assessment indicated that she was eligible for additional benefits, but not for the period of her dismissal.
Harth recalls the final assessment and says, "I was thinking, 'Someone didn't understand this properly.'"
Harth said he and his daughter contacted the agency several times but were told there was nothing they could do and that she needed to pay back the $16,000.
It wasn't until Harth contacted the Taxpayer Ombudsman, who he said contacted him and the Canada Revenue Agency directly, that the issue was resolved.
"The CRA finally put down the shelf, called us and said, 'yes, we see...... There is an error'. But they didn't give an explanation," Harth said.
"I don't understand how something so simple could go so wrong. ”
Ottawa's Kelly Stewart said the Canada Revenue Agency also did not consider her eligible for the benefits she received, even though she provided documentation to the agency proving that this was not the case.
"I just felt that my case was handled badly from the beginning," she said. ”
Stewart said she had to send her documents twice because the CRA said her first submission was lost in the agency's mailroom. She also states that the case numbers on the two decision notices she received did not match those originally assigned to her.
A spokesperson for the Minister of National Revenue, Marie-Claude Bibeau, said the department believes that the verification process is going well.
"Many Canadians were able to prove their eligibility with proper documentation after the Canada Revenue Agency issued a redetermination notice to a number of individuals deemed ineligible after the Canada Revenue Agency issued a redetermination notice," Bibeau's press secretary Simon Lafortune said in an email. ”
"We are very pleased with the Canada Revenue Agency's verification process on this matter and will continue to ensure that all eligible Canadians receive the benefits they deserve. ”
But Stewart said she wasn't too happy with the process so far.
"[It's] incredibly frustrating because it's so weird and it really kind of undermines my confidence in the process," she said. ”
Stewart said she intends to seek judicial review of Immigration's decision in her case.
Although his daughter's problems were eventually resolved, Harth was equally unimpressed by the IRD's handling of the situation.
"The whole review process made me doubt the integrity of the agency because of the mishandling," Harth said.
"They make things really tricky. ”