Recipients of Pandemic Subsidies Owed a Total of $723 Million in Unpaid Taxes

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) headquarters Connaught Building is pictured in Ottawa on Aug. 17, 2020. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Government COVID-19 subsidies were paid to more than 56,000 companies that turned out to be insolvent and owed a total of $723 million in unpaid taxes.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) began in March 2020 to help small businesses pay employees, with a 75 percent wage subsidy for up to 12 weeks. The entire program cost $100.6 billion to taxpayers.