Question Period Note: Repayment of Emergency Benefits

As post-payment verification is getting underway, some Canadians are beginning to be notified of their emergency benefit overpayments

• From the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the Government of Canada has supported Canadians with benefits like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
• While I cannot comment on individual cases, the Government understands there may be situations in which workers received a CERB payment to which they were not eligible.

• Individuals should contact the department that sent the Notice for an explanation of the decision or to provide additional information that may modify the decision.

• In order to prevent causing undue hardship, flexible repayment options are available. Individuals may contact the Canada Revenue Agency to establish repayment schedules based on their ability to pay and financial situation.

If Pressed:
• We are also working closely with claimants who have experienced some delays in receiving EI due to high demand periods

CERB – Post-Payment Verification

Once clients receive their Notice of Debt (from Service Canada) or their Notice of Redetermination (from the CRA), they can contact the CRA to establish payment schedules, considering their ability to pay. This approach will take into account the financial circumstances of the person, including deferral of debt for those who cannot repay at that time. Canadians will also have access to formal hardship assessments where repayment is not financially possible.

Advance Payment Repayment – Notices of Debt

Many clients who applied for the CERB through Service Canada before June 14, 2020 received a $2,000 advance payment of four weeks, which was issued to get money in pockets as quickly as possible.

This approach was adopted because the Service Canada CERB payments leveraged the EI systems, which normally make payments in arrears. Contrary to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) model, which is designed to pay in advance, clients would have experienced delays in receiving their first payment.

To reconcile this advance payment for Canadians who remained eligible for CERB, in the summer of 2020, the Department applied this advance against other payment periods in June, July and August (for weeks 13 and 14 as well as for weeks 18 and 19 of their claim), where recipients saw an interruption in payments in order to apply the money paid to weeks of eligibility. If recipients were not entitled to and/or did not receive CERB payments for at least 20 weeks, some or all of the advance payment remained as an outstanding balance owing. Advance payments to one million clients have been fully recovered.

As of June 4, 2022, 1,254,878 clients who have an outstanding overpayment as a result of the advance CERB payment, have received a Notice of Debt containing the outstanding balance with repayment instructions and an outline of their appeal rights.

Recent Media Coverage

On June 10, 2022, a media article in the Toronto Star expressed frustration that EI benefits were being clawed back in order to repay the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Despite calling the Canada Revenue Agency for a repayment plan, the claimant was advised that the agency would need a minimum 25 per cent of her EI benefits. The article also makes a brief reference to the claimant’s delay in receiving EI payments. She went on maternity leave in April 2022, and has yet to receive any payments.

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