120 employees ‘no longer with the CRA’ after review of CERB claims

The Canada Revenue Agency says 120 employees are no longer with the agency following an internal review of employees who claimed the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

The CRA announced the review process on June 30, and it has gone over approximately 600 cases so far. The agency adds that the investigations and disciplinary process continue.

When the CRA initially announced the review process, it said 20 employees had been terminated.

“Any CRA employee who inappropriately claimed the CERB will be required to repay the amounts if they haven’t already done so,” CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch said in a statement to Global News Friday.

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“The CRA takes any form of wrongdoing very seriously, and is strongly committed to protecting the integrity of Canada’s tax and benefit systems and demonstrating to Canadians that the CRA is a trusted and fair organization.”

0:43 CRA says 20 employees fired for claiming COVID-19 benefits while working

The CRA was responsible for administering the $2,000-per-month CERB when it was in effect between March and September 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Branch’s statement notes that being an employee of the CRA did not necessarily make a person ineligible for the CERB. She notes that the CRA does employ temporary and contract workers, who could have been eligible, as an example.

The review has found 30 employees so far who claimed the CERB and were eligible.

Branch emphasized that there are more than 60,000 employees who work for the CRA, and the agency has confidence in their overall integrity.

— with a file from Sean Boynton.