OTTAWA | The Canada Revenue Agency has fired 330 employees who received the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) inappropriately, according to its final count.
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In total, approximately 600 employees were targeted by investigations, the CRA confirmed Wednesday.
Remember that it was the CRA itself which administered the emergency allowance.
In addition to the 330 people fired, 40 others faced less severe disciplinary measures such as suspensions.
“Any employee of the Agency who has improperly requested and received the CERB is required to reimburse the amounts received if this has not already been done,” underlines a spokesperson, Nina Ioussoupova.
The CERB was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed eligible people to receive taxable $2,000 per month, for a maximum duration of 28 weeks in total.
Nearly 9 million Canadians benefited, for a cost of around 80 billion.
The abuses were numerous.
Ottawa would have overpaid some 5 billion to ineligible Canadians.
About $2 billion was recovered by the CRA.
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