Canada should end CERB and CRB collections from low-income people, new Maytree report says
A new Maytree report argues that Canada should wind down its recovery of pandemic benefit overpayments from low-income people, calling the current approach unfair, inefficient, and out of step with how other countries have handled similar debt.
In Let it be over: It’s time to wind down the collection of pandemic benefits from Canada’s poorest and most marginalized residents, authors John Stapleton and MacGregor Goodman find that Canada continues to pursue repayment from low-income Canadians who were encouraged to apply for CERB and CRB during a fast-moving crisis, often under confusing and changing rules. Unlike countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Canada has largely continued to seek full repayment from the poorest recipients rather than drawing a line under the debt.
The report authors argue that the current recovery regime is especially harmful for people with low incomes, including social assistance recipients, people in precarious work, and people in the cash economy. It also highlights cases where provincial clawbacks meant the money was already taken back through reduced social assistance or related supports, leaving people being pursued twice for the same dollars.
Stapleton and Goodman are calling for a structured wind-down of CERB and CRB collections, including forgiveness for those least able to repay, proportional settlements where repayment is possible, reconciliation of provincial clawbacks, and a fixed end date for routine recovery efforts.