Two years after the federal government made an unprecedented move to provide $ 2,000 a month in emergency financial aid to those who lost their jobs in 2020 due to the pandemic, many Canadians are being told to return the money – including some who they say they have not even applied for this particular benefit.
Many of those who have received notification letters from the Canadian Revenue Agency in the last few months have told CTVNews.ca that they have no idea they will have to return any of the benefits, with some saying they are struggling to find the money.
As pandemic measures closed thousands of jobs in the spring of 2020, the government has launched a program called Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to help Canadians who have lost their jobs or are unable to work due to COVID-19.
Those who qualified received $ 2,000 a month during the initial phase of the program, which has since ended.
But two years later, thousands of Canadians began receiving letters informing them that they had to return at least some of the money, and many were told they were not eligible for CERB in the first place or had received too much money.
CTVNews.ca asked Canadians who received a letter telling them they owed money related to CERB to share how the news affected them and their finances. The answers were sent by email to CTVNews.ca and not all were checked independently.
As of Wednesday, more than 250 emails had been sent to CTVNews.ca, with many respondents noting their confusion and disappointment.
“When I was laid off during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, I thought CERB was a miracle,” said Caitlin Hartley.
“But when I recently received a letter from the CRA telling me that I had to return $ 2,000 to them because ‘I shouldn’t have received so much in the first place,’ my first thought was ‘This is a joke.’ That can’t be true. “
She said she was struggling with a “mountain of debt” from school, as well as payments from her daily life.
“I was shocked, then angry, and now just sad. The only thing I can think of is that I would never have accepted it or would have removed it if I had known that the government would turn around during the most difficult period of my life (personally and financially) and ask for that money back. ”
Some respondents also stated that they did not even apply for CERB – they applied for employment (EI) in early 2020 and instead gave them money from CERB.
When Kara Trulav, who lives in Winnipeg, Man., Initially received an email telling her she owed $ 2,000 to the government, she initially thought it was a fraudulent email, she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview.
But she quickly realized what it was – the same email her friend had told her they had received a month ago, which Trulav thought was a coincidence.
She was finishing her last nursing internship when the pandemic struck and she lost her waitress jobs.
“I needed some income,” she said. “So that’s why I applied for EI, like everyone else in the country.”
The fact that she did not want to receive CERB makes the situation even more disappointing, she said.
“They gave me the amount from CERB instead of what I probably should have, because EI takes a percentage of what you do, so you only get 60 percent of your salary,” she said. She believes that CERB became the default at the time because it was easier to calculate given the flood of people in need.
“So I guess instead of finding out how many people applied for EI, they just gave it all [same] amount of money.”
She said that if she had known that she would eventually owe money, “I would not have even applied for it” and that the government should have been more transparent.
“I don’t think they knew what they were doing,” she said. “And they realize that now and now they are trying to cover their tracks, but it’s not fair because they want hard-working citizens to get that money back, which they were never told they would have to do in the first place.”
The federal government and the CRA have previously said that some CERB recipients may have to return the money while conducting reviews, but the CRA also said it would consider the “unique situations” of those struggling to get their money back.
Derek Rhodes said he applied for EI after being fired by Air Canada in June 2020, but “was admitted to CERB without my permission.”
On Monday, the CRA sent a letter informing him that he had been “overpaid” in the first month he was at CERB, but he disputed that he was eligible for the full $ 2,000 that month and planned to contact the CRA. to present his case.
He added that his family had struggled for the past two years and had just returned to work with a “significant loss of pay”.
“How are we going to pay for this when we’re still drowning?” he said. “The government had to help its people. Instead, they help us fail. “
A construction worker in Oakville, Ont., Said his work site was closed around the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in March 2020. He applied for EI before CERB was even announced.
“Suddenly, after I applied, I was informed by the government that instead of receiving EI, it would automatically be changed to CERB,” said Wally Azarcon.
“Now I have to pay over $ 2,000 for CERB, which I didn’t initially apply for.”
FROM A PANDEMIC GIFT TO A NIGHTMARE
For many, the sudden charge of $ 2,000 hanging over their heads is devastating.
Karen Mahler, who lives in High River, Alta, said she was not sure she could afford to get back thousands of dollars right now.
“Right now we are struggling to stay fed, have a roof over our heads and gas in the car to get to work,” she wrote. “I just had stomach surgery last week and I just applied for EI. I hope none of this affects him. “
The government has said there is no interest on these payments and that Canadians can contact them to set a payment schedule to slowly pay off the money they owe.
A May 11 press release from the Canadian Revenue Agency outlined how Canadians who received one of these letters should proceed.
“If you are unable to pay your debt at the moment or you cannot pay it at all, you should call the CRA to discuss your situation,” the statement said. “We understand that these can be difficult times and we are here to help you.”
A 29-year-old from Saskatoon, Saskato, said he felt “stupid” because he suggested that CERB would only be useful.
“I didn’t expect to have to pay back $ 2,000,” said Elliott Cook. “I have never had to deal with such a situation. I foolishly thought that the government was protecting me and that, as EI, I would not have to pay it back because I was fired through no fault of my own due to a pandemic.
He added that he was struggling with his mental health and had started and dropped out of school during the pandemic. He currently works in two jobs to support himself and his fiancée.
“I can’t afford to pay it off and I don’t know where to go next,” he said.
Some Canadians say they have never received any money – and yet they are still told they owe money.
Ann Belshaw said she “tried to apply for unemployment” after she was fired in March 2020.
When she was told that EI was not available and that the only option was to pay by CERB, she decided not to apply at all.
“A few months ago, I started receiving mail that I owed them $ 2,000 for a $ 2,000 payment, which I didn’t receive,” she said.
“I spoke to someone on the phone and they said I just had to print out bank statements from April 2020 to prove that I had not received anything. I did this and sent it, but I’m still getting word that I owe them money. They do not respond to my attempt to prove to them that I did not receive money from them. “
Federal agencies say THIS IS COMING
Officials say it should come as no surprise that some people are being told they owe money, and that the government has previously said that anyone who received funds incorrectly would have to return them.
“The government was clear during the pandemic that although there will be no penalties for those who have applied for these benefits in good faith, individuals will have to return the emergency benefits to which they were not entitled,” a government statement said. In the beginning of May.
The statement said that “re-determination notices” would be issued in May to those who were considered ineligible for CERB or required to return money for some other reason.
Canadians have been receiving “debt notices” since November last year. They were issued to those who received an “advance payment” from CERB but “did not stay at CERB long enough to fully coordinate that payment by applying for the next payment periods,” according to the statement.
Jade Stewart said in an email that her fiancée Leo had received a debt notification and that they were confused that the speed of the first payment from CERB actually meant that it was an advance payment that had to be paid.
“None of this was said when he applied for CERB, and we paid taxes on that as well,” she said.
The couple, who live in Sarnia, Ont., Had to postpone their wedding for two years due to COVID-19 and will finally do so this summer. But they are struggling with the accumulation of costs.
“We live check to pay check [sic]and with the price of everything else, having to pay $ 2,000, which we thought were there to help us, goes …
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