The Canada Revenue Agency has expressed concerns about the possibility of false claims for pandemic benefits being significantly higher than initially anticipated.
According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), “Overall the Agency estimates its verifications alone will exceed the dollar value of potentially ineligible benefits received by individuals by almost $3.2 billion. That is 22 percent more coverage than the amount of potentially ineligible payments requiring further investigation identified by the auditor general.”
The increasing costs outlined in CRA records did not include the rising expense of auditing taxpayers who received the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit checks.
As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, only $1.93 billion of pandemic benefits given to ineligible Canadians has been recovered so far. The amount of ineligible claims has resulted in a cost of at least $7.96 for each Canadian taxpayer.
Additionally, Employment Insurance claimants falsely claimed $250 million through the Department of Employment, with only $133.9 million recovered to date.
The CRA informed the committee that the cost of auditing to retrieve the funds was substantial. Further efforts are planned to continue until 2025, with an estimated overall cost of $707 million.
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The Revenue Agency emphasized that it understands the challenges Canadians may still be facing due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Payment arrangements have been extended to accommodate longer repayment periods, taking into account individual financial situations.
When questioned about the proportion of overpayments resulting from “good faith mistakes by Canadians” versus intentional fraud, Ms. Hogan declined to provide a definitive answer.
In March 2020, shortly after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Parliament passed the Canada Emergency Response Benefits Act without requiring upfront proof of eligibility. Initially budgeted at $24 billion, the program ended up costing $81.6 billion.
