In total, 330 tax officials were fired after illegally receiving pandemic benefits, according to the final report from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) published Wednesday, four years after the fact.
“Although the vast majority of cases [sous enquête] have been reviewed, there are a very small number of cases that will take longer, such as those involving employees on sick leave or extended leave without pay,” added CRA spokesperson Nina Ioussoupova , in a statement.
The federal agency was responsible for administering the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), financial assistance of $500 per week intended for workers forced to stay at home by confinements decreed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hundreds of its employees instead took the opportunity to line their pockets.
At least 650 investigations into its employees have been opened by the CRA. It has determined the guilt of around 100 additional officials since the last update in March.
The report published Wednesday is intended to be the last on the case. In addition to the 330 CRA employees fired for applying for, and then receiving, the CERB, 40 other public servants were subject to administrative measures, such as suspensions. 145 other people targeted by the investigation had already left the Agency or had been victims of identity theft.
Although the salaries and working conditions of federal civil servants made most of them ineligible for emergency aid, 135 CRA employees targeted by the investigation were in fact part of the exception, and were in fact eligible for the CERB. These are mainly temporary or student employees.
“In addition, any employee of the Agency who has improperly requested and received the CERB is required to reimburse the amounts received if they have not already done so,” the press release specifies.
The CRA considers that the actions of the erring public servants “should in no way undermine the honesty and integrity of the tens of thousands of Agency employees who work in an exemplary manner every day to serve Canadians and Canadians. »
The CERB was replaced by other pandemic aid programs, mainly by the Canadian Economic Recovery Benefit (PCRE), in September 2020, four years ago. The bulk of pandemic aid for workers ended permanently in October 2021.
A few months later, the Auditor General of Canada concluded that $4.6 billion had been overpaid during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the form of CERB or PCRE. She strongly advised the government to examine more closely 27.4 billion in various benefits to detect other anomalies. Ottawa refused this recommendation.
