CRA fires 120 employees over ‘inappropriate’ CERB claims

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has fired 120 employees in relation to “inappropriate” Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) claims made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CRA began investigating 600 cases of employees who may have wrongfully claimed the benefit on Jun. 30.

In addition to the 120 employees that got fired, the CRA also found that only about 30 out of the 600 employees are eligible for CERB.

The benefit amounted to $2,000 a month to Canadians whose jobs were lost or downgraded due to public-health restrictions.

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Some employees at CRA who hold student and temporary contract positions may have been eligible for CERB at the time it was available.

“Being a current employee of the CRA does not necessarily mean an individual was ineligible for CERB,” a CRA spokesperson said in a press release Friday.

CRA is continuing to investigate and says some cases may be referred to law enforcement if there is any “suspected criminality.”

Ineligible employees who claimed the benefit will be required to repay the full amount.