120 CRA staff fired for claiming CERB payments while employed
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has fired 120 staff members who “inappropriately” claimed the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while employed with the organization.
This is an update on an internal review process of hundreds of cases the CRA launched on June 30.
“Out of the approximately 600 cases, we can report that 120 individuals are no longer with the CRA as a result of this internal review,” the agency said in a statement issued on Friday. “The investigations and disciplinary processes continue.”
Andriy R/Shutterstock
According to the organization, any employee who inappropriately claimed CERB will be required to repay the amounts if they haven’t already done so.
These cases are reviewed through the agency’s internal investigation and disciplinary processes. It says this could lead to referrals to law enforcement if a “criminal is suspected.”
“The CRA takes any form of wrongdoing very seriously and is strongly committed to protecting the integrity of Canada’s tax and benefit systems and demonstrating to Canadians that the CRA is a trusted and fair organization,” the agency stated.
The organization also clarifies that being a current employee of the CRA doesn’t necessarily mean someone was ineligible for CERB.
Since the CRA hires for positions like temporary and student contracts, those employees may have been eligible to receive CERB when it was available.
The agency currently employs over 60,000 people.
“In this regard, roughly 30 employees that are part of this review have been found to be eligible so far,” said the agency.
This update comes after a class-action lawsuit was launched against the CRA in August.
It claims that the agency and Canadian government were “negligent in safeguarding the confidential information of Canadians, leading to widespread privacy breaches.”
The data breaches allegedly let bad actors use real accounts to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
Follow Channels and Categories