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UPDATE: On February 9, 2021 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that self-employed Canadians will not have to pay the government back the Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) they received.
“For people who accessed CERB based on their gross income instead of net income, as long as you met the other eligibility criteria, you will not have to return your CERB payments,” Prime Minister Trudeau reportedly said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The announcement provides a breath of relief for those who were initially on the hook to pay back up to $14,000 amid the ongoing pandemic struggles. The announcement is also a pivot from the government’s previous position that resulted in the CRA sending out hundreds of thousands of letters reportedly requesting the money back.
The government’s initial stance on the mix-up sparked this class action lawsuit filed by a retired teacher claiming her and other self-employed Canadians were not to blame for the money mistake.
The prime minister agreed saying in part, “Our priority is ensuring that you and your family get through this pandemic and back on your feet.”
Those who paid the money back to the government with haste will get it back, according to a Global News report.
Canadians are also off the hook for certain tax debts from the CERB payments. “If you received federal emergency benefits – like the CERB – and you made up to $75,000 in taxable income, you will not have to pay interest on 2020 tax debt until April of next year,” Prime Minister Trudeau added according to Global News.
Top Class Actions will continue to update this news article as it develops. Click on the “Follow Article” at the top of this page to get the latest updates about the CERB repayment class action lawsuit by using your free Top Class Actions account.
A retired teacher says that she and other self-employed Canadians were misinformed about supplemental benefits under the country’s COVID-19 relief compensation plan and now the government wants its money back. She filed a CERB repayment class action lawsuit against the federal government saying she’s not to blame for the money mishap.
Lead plaintiff Janet Ryan, a semi-retired teacher in Mississauga, Ont., claims she supplements her pension with income from tutoring part-time, making approximately $5,000 in 2019. Ryan says that the coronavirus pandemic has affected her income and she welcomed financial assistance.
The plaintiff claims she checked to make sure she qualified for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) before applying; however, after she received assistance she also received a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) demanding a CERB repayment because she did not meet eligibility requirements for the program.
Indeed, in December, over 400,000 Canadians reportedly received CRA letters notifying them that they may have to pay their CERB assistance back. The letters threw many into a panic, wondering how they would pay the benefit back as the pandemic drags on, according to The Star.
The issue is confusion over the eligibility requirements for CERB assistance. Allegedly, the CERB website was not clear about the income eligibility requirements. Many applicants believed that only their gross income needed to be over $5,000 for them to qualify for CERB; however, the income limit was $5,000 net income.
In addition to confusion on the CERB website, some self-employed Canadians say that CRA representatives told them that they qualified based on their gross income. In fact, the CRA admitted that some of its agents had the wrong information, reports The Star; however, the agency maintains that some CERB recipients will still be required to pay back the benefit despite the misleading information.
Self-employed Canadians who received CERB assistance, but did not qualify because their net income was under $5,000 may be forced to repay as much as $14,000 to the government.
CERB has faced other legal actions. This summer, a class action lawsuit claimed that CERB failed to protect individuals’ personal information, leaving itself open to a series of cyberattacks.
The proposed CERB repayment class action lawsuit seeks to represent pensioners with self-employment income. The lawyer representing the plaintiff told The Star that, if successful, the class action lawsuit will likely benefit all self-employed Canadians who received a CRA letter demanding their CERB assistance back.
Are you a self-employed CERB recipient? Are you concerned that you are going to have to pay your benefits back? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below!
Lead plaintiff, Janet Ryan, and the proposed Class Members are represented by Jan Weir of Jan D. Weir, Barrister.
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36 thoughts onCERB Class Action Lawsuit Filed After Government Asks for The Money Back
im self employed and met the eligibility criteria based on my 2019 tax return declaration under other earnings.i recieved this validation letter and submitted the verification of income to the cra’s satisfaction,permittting me to continue recieving covid benefits as needed. ive since been subject to a second validations process which found my previous validating documents unsupportive in validating all benefit claims made after the first round of validations i cleared. i dont feel the cra is entitled to this clawback given 90% of it wouldnt exist if they had made it clear i cant use income sources paid in cash or etransfer on a end of day pay arrangement.i submitted invoices,tax returns, bank statements and a letter from an employer but somehow i remain ineligible for benefits i was already deemed eligible for
I received a letter in the mail that I owe a debt back for CERB benefits. I was working throughout the pandemic and did not even use CERB. I’ve been trying to contact the CRA since I received my letter, waiting hours on the phone each time. So far no response.
Made me pay a
L back with my income tax
My husband and I are both self employed and we are aided with support by social assistance, periodically, because I’m seasonal and my husbands injured. Our case worker told is us go off assistance and collect cerb. We collected until they told us to stop. We make 20 to 24 grand a year. Our gst is gone, our child tax is cut, my husband didn’t get a tax return, and I got a 150 back… on cerb we ate best, we felt healthy and our mental health was wonderful! Now, we’re miserable and back to the food bank which never has enough fresh produce for families. The lower income are treated like garbage in New Brunswick. There’s no way for us to climb out of this nightmare hole unless we get help outside the government.
I am a self employed Canadian who is being chased with repayment now! I provided them all the things they needed, they claimed I was not eligible though they said the discrepancy was $45 and I sent them receipts for income earned from dog walking and my personal graphic design business. I don’t know what I am supposed to do now… I’m about to send all the documents again for the appeal but they didn’t answer the phone for weeks when I called to speak with my case worker and I am past the date I’m allowed to appeal now supposedly. They didn’t call me or tell me in a letter the deadline for a appeal. They just snuck it into my inbox on the CRA website while I was out of the country. Any hints would be appreciated.
Due to the “extra” payments only certain people received, me self being one of them. They told me I wasn’t eligible and had to pay that back which like so many others left us without while they decided to without warning not pay us. And then to have to pay back other so called “ benefits” because again they didn’t inform people fully on how said supports were going to work and changing the qualifying factors.
They want me to repay all my benefits I got and I qualified with T2125 Global income of $5,717.00
Still they won’t accept it and sent the tax I payed on it back three months later .
I was self employed and met the requirements until they moved the goal posts from Gross to Net Income. They requested I pay the $14,000 back. On Feb 2020 I had surgery due to my spinal cord being 90% compressed. I had no access to my surgeon for a year. No physio, nothing because of Covid 19. The reason for denial was, “I was not impacted by Covid 19”. CRA should be paying me as all the requirements were met as I was self employed. Its disgraceful. No income as I am now I’m disabled and unable to work. How wasn’t I impacted????? Disgraceful move by our government. My uncle who’s a retired teacher who works part-time & lives quite comfortably, Qualified!!!
have you tried to join the class action suit? Do you know if that’s still possible? I feel I’m in the same spot as you… lost work to covid, subsidized my pay with part time stuff like Graphic design and dog walking. I’m disabled, can’t find work and they are now harassing me for the fund!
I am eligible, received money and then was cut off and haven’t been able to get anything since November 2020, and I have had no income for the last 9 months so what should I do?
I’m in the same boat. I can’t seem get work and my disability is costly for insulin and ophthalmology to keep my eyes. have you herd anything about how to join the suit?
Yep, I phoned CRA and they actually looked at my tax return and told me I was eligible as a self-employed CPP recipient. Collected CERB and 2 CRB payments. Now they are saying I don’t qualify because my Net Income was $300 below 5000 in 2019. Feeling concerned and let down. Am interested in class action, but have not received and repayment demands yet….
I want to join the class action suit too if I have to. I was meeting the criteria as well before they changed it and now they said I have been deemed ineligible. though I was and sent them all the documents they needed to see as such. If you find anything for the class action suit, please let me know. I think a lot of people are going to be in this situation.
I would like join as well. I want to fight this!