CRA reversed $246M in pandemic benefit debts after thousands contested eligibility status

The government has had to cancel at least $246 million in debts for thousands of Canadians it initially claimed had received pandemic benefits for which they weren't eligible.

Since 2022, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been collecting money from Canadians the government says received benefits — such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) — in error.

The government has been withholding tax refunds and other benefits in an effort to recoup money sent to individuals it says were ineligible for the funds they received. The CRA told CBC News that at the end of last year, it had collected roughly $1.8 billion in erroneous pandemic benefit payments.

But many Canadians have disputed the government's assessment of their eligibility for those benefits and hundreds have even taken the government to court.

The CRA told CBC News that as of April, it has reversed the debts of roughly 27,000 individuals who originally had been deemed ineligible but later had their eligibility verified.

Those figures only include pandemic benefits that were administered by the CRA. A portion of the CERB program was administered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC); that department told CBC News it doesn't track how many benefit debts it has reversed.

Cris Best, a Toronto tax lawyer, said he's not surprised by the number of debt cancellations that have been issued. He said he's heard from several Canadians who believe they've been unfairly targeted by eligibility reviews.

"There's no doubt in my mind that there's a lot of inconsistency," he said.

Canadians who have received a notice from the government stating that their eligibility has been revoked are able to ask for two reviews of their case. After that point, their only recourse is through the courts.

Best said it's extremely difficult to argue a case with the CRA once an initial decision has been made because there is "a reverse onus in tax law."

"You're essentially guilty before innocent," he said.

"The CRA can essentially assume facts, which is what they do, and then the taxpayer bears the burden to disprove those facts … It's not a very fair fight."

Jason Harth said he experienced the difficulty of dealing with the CRA when trying to help his daughter argue her case.

"It was a muck," he said of the process.