Ontario man shocked to repay $12K in CERB payments years after using them
An Ontario man says he’s been asked to pay back $12,000 of his COVID-19 benefits years after he used them.
“I’m between a rock and a hard place. I don’t have that money now. It’s long gone,” Eduardo Tso told CTV News Toronto.
Tso said he worked in retail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though he worked during that time, Tso’s hours and shifts were reduced, which he thought made him eligible to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
But the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) told him he earned more than $1,000 of employment or self-employment during the payment periods he applied for CERB.
Tso was told by the CRA that he was not eligible for CERB, and that he needs to pay back $12,000.
"This has to be some kind of mistake. This is like three years ago. How can you possibly tell me I owe this money now when things are so expensive and interest rates are so high,” Tso said.
In a rush to help Canadians during the pandemic, the federal government sent out billions of dollars in CERB payments, but many Canadians who received those payments weren't eligible.
Canada’s auditor general estimated about $4.6 billion in pandemic benefits went to people it shouldn't have, and the CRA has been trying to collect that money over the past three years.
Almost 800,000 Canadians have repaid $1.4 billion in COVID benefits and the government recovered almost $240 million by holding back tax refunds.
Earlier this year, in January, CTV News Toronto spoke with a Toronto actor who also took CERB payments.
Alain D’Amours was shocked when he was told he had to pay back $23,700.
"You gave me the money to help me survive. You gave the money, it is not a loan, right now it feels like I borrowed from you and now I have to pay it back with interest," D’Amours said.
The federal government wants to collect overpayments from all its COVID-19 benefit programs, including the following:
- Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
- Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)
- Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
- Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
- Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
- Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB)
According to the CRA, anyone facing financial hardship can arrange to pay back benefits over time.
Tso said he lives in his sister’s basement and declaring bankruptcy may be his only option.
"I think I qualified for this and I think the $12,000 should be completely erased. There is no way I can pay this money back,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump delivers rambling response to his hush money conviction
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Jurors weigh death penalty after finding Chad Daybell guilty of killing his first wife and second wife's 2 children
A day after delivering a guilty verdict in Chad Daybell’s murder trial, an Idaho jury will reconvene Friday to weigh whether he will face the death penalty.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.