Government Recovers About a Third of $3 Billion Erroneous CERB Payments

Government Recovers About a Third of $3 Billion Erroneous CERB Payments
The landing page for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is seen in Toronto on Aug. 10, 2020. Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press
Andrew Chen
Updated:
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The federal government has so far recovered about a third of the roughly $3 billion in COVID-19 relief benefits paid to ineligible people, the cabinet disclosed in records submitted to the House of Commons.

In an Inquiry of Ministry, obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, the cabinet said notices have been sent to roughly 1.7 million Canadians who do not qualify for but have received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). A total of 8.9 million people received the benefit, meaning that ineligible applicants account for 19 percent of the recipients.