The number of employees fired by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) for “inappropriately” claiming the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has climbed to 232.
This is an update on an internal review process the CRA launched in June 2023, investigating approximately 600 employees.
In an email statement to Daily Hive, the CRA confirmed that the 232 employees have all been let go from the agency.
CERB was a program intended to help Canadians financially affected by the pandemic with monthly payments of up to $2,000.
The agency told Daily Hive in an email that “any CRA employee who inappropriately applied for and received the CERB will be required to repay the amounts if they haven’t already done so.”
The federal agency last provided an update about its employees claiming CERB in December 2023, when it said 185 staffers had been let go.
The CRA clarified that being a current employee doesn’t necessarily mean an individual is ineligible for CERB.
“The CRA employs individuals with a variety of employment profiles such as temporary and student contracts; and, as such, some individuals were eligible to receive the CERB. As a result of this process, 133 employees have been found to be eligible so far,” noted the agency.
Over the past few years, the CRA’s relationship with Canadians has taken a hit.
According to court documents released in 2022, thousands of CRA accounts were hacked and used to file fraudulent CERB applications. The breach has resulted in a major class action against the Canadian government.
Last October, a Quebec man who formerly processed child benefit applications for the CRA was sentenced to jail time for falsely claiming tax credits and benefits worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
With files from National Trending staff
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