More than 300 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency have been terminated in the past year for inappropriately receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the final round of firings having occurred in the past three months.
In total, 330 people have lost their jobs at the federal agency after receiving a benefit they were ineligible to receive, the CRA told Global News in its final update.
The CRA said last year they were launching an internal review to determine if employees had received CERB, and identified approximately 600 people for further investigation.
The $2,000-per-month CERB was rolled out by the CRA between March and September 2020 in the early months of the pandemic.
Not everyone who has been investigated was terminated, however. The CRA said 185 were looked into, but not fired, though 40 faced disciplinary actions, such as suspension. The remainder of the cases saw administrative actions taken, such as the end of review as the employee was no longer with the agency at the time of review, or were found to be a victim of identity theft.
Another 135 faced no consequences as they were eligible for CERB, with the CRA telling Global News some of their employees could receive the benefit because they were students or on temporary contracts.
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Those that did access CERB inappropriately will be required to pay back the money if they have not already done so, the CRA said.
“The actions of some should in no way undermine the honesty and integrity of the tens of thousands of CRA employees who work every day in an exemplary manner to serve Canadians,” a spokesperson for the CRA said in an email.
The CRA added that there were still a small number of cases, such as those on medical or extended unpaid leave, who are still being reviewed and will take additional time to complete.
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