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.

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.

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.

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

National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Thursday, April 18, 2024.

"After the CRA sent out notices of redetermination to some individuals that were deemed to be ineligible, many Canadians were able to demonstrate their eligibility with the proper documentation," Simon Lafortune, Bibeau's press secretary, said in an email.