Many Canadians Struggling To Make Repayments Of Covid-19 Benefits

With the increasing cost of living and inflation rate, the Torontonians have to face some major crisis as Canada rolled out its emergency pandemic benefit programs after four years. Some of the residents found out that they are ineligible for the program and now they have to pay back thousands to the government. 

Later in 2020, the CRA abolished the temporary aid which was the initial Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Therefore, the government came up with other specified applications. What most Canadians knew as CERB became CRB, the Canadian Response Benefit – a program that was largely similar but allowed applicants to report more self-earned income.

“I was able to apply for the full $14,000 from CERB,” Madden said. “But then when CRB rolled out I assumed I also qualified for that because they said it was for technology or electrical workers, so I applied.” Madden is among those citizens who has been asked to pay back benefits that are dated back in March 2020. 

He stated that he was approved for $4,000 through CRB and while now he is being asked to be paid back. “I think the government should take responsibility and say you know what, we made a mistake,” he said.

Some of the people trapped themselves in the Canadian Emergency Business Account, where the Canadian Business Owners could apply for up to $40,000 in non-amortized loans. Theo Westpark, a commercial designer, has owned and operated her own business in North York since 1996 and during the pandemic, she applied for CEBA and was granted the loan. 

“When they asked me to pay it back, I had about $6,000 saved – a far cry from the $40,000 needed,” Westpark said. She went to the Royal Bank of Canada, where she said she’s been a customer for over 35 years, and asked for a loan. “They refused,” she said. This further resulted in closing off her physical office space and starting working from home. 

Navneet Kaur