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    Ehepaar aus Alberta kämpft gegen die CRA: 33.000 US-Dollar an COVID-Leistungen

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    2. Feltzinclasp5 on

      If you took taxpayer money you weren’t eligible for, it’s nobody else’s fault when you find out you have to pay it back. The entitlement is crazy. Then having the audacity to say „we can finally afford our bills!“. Like yeah I’m sure if I took $50K from the government I could afford some stuff too.

      Edit: Lmao this is great.

      > “I was hardly making enough to live on and that’s what that benefit’s supposed to be for,” she said.

    3. Mindless_Efforts on

      I used CERB. It was easy to set up and clear who gets and who doesn’t. Whoever claims they were „confused“ or „misinformed“ is laying and took advantage of the program. They must be held accountable and pay back.

    4. Hotter_Noodle on

      Why does that photo look like an unsolved mysteries headshot in the “before” phase.

      *They were by all accounts a happy couple…*

    5. livingthudream on

      People certainly took advantage of it. The reality is the rush and inability to really vet yhe applications meant that it was going to have a lot of built in trust. Unfortunately people figured they shouldn’t miss out on it and applied in many cases knowingly that they likely weren’t entitled. I get that some honestly didn’t fully know but many people took steps to clarify first.

      I have little patience for those who tried to game the system

    6. Massive-Lake-5718 on

      It’s the same ppl who normally make, for example, 30k a year but then think they are entitled to 60k in CERB benefits.

    8. Serious_Cheetah_2225 on

      To add another insult to injury, I was a nurse in 2020 (I started in 2018) and with my hourly rate was literally making $200 more than what the cerb was paying out to people and I was front line 🥲

    9. CityActive on

      I understand there was a lot of abuse of Cerb and ei benefits at this time, but I applied for ei because I was off of work, due to Covid. The government automatically gave me Cerb and then gave me ei, I had a hunch that I didnt qualify for both. It was also impossible to get a hold of anyone to help you out at this time. Two years later I get a letter saying I owe back almost everything they gave me (Cerb & EI). EI program seemed like a waste to me. Like why do I pay into it, if when I do need it, if I’ll need to pay it back in 2 years.

    11. Worried_Temporary441 on

      I feel for them, but nothing is free. In the article is says „Bankrupt Again!“. So this isn’t something new.

    12. Lopsided-Many9394 on

      These morons fraudulently took tax payer money and now whine to the media that they need to pay it back.

      Sell your house if you don’t have the cash to pay it back. You’re not entitled to free tax dollars just because you couldn’t understand the eligibility requirements. Ignorance of the law is not a defense.

    14. Appropriate_Mess_350 on

      I remember SO many warnings about fraud. The message I recall was, “We’re getting it out there ASAP to help legitimate people quickly, but we will be following up and we will go after the frauds” to paraphrase. I’m weary of the old “FAFO”, but it seems appropriate in this case. These people were greedy, stupid frauds. I’m astounded by their desire to go public with their theft of tax payer money.

    15. According_Training91 on

      10 billion dollars. They will consider themselves lucky if they ever see even 1% of that money repaid. Everyone, *everyone* including Justin Trudeau, knew a lot of the claims were invalid but why on earth would we take time to validate when we can just ship the money out the door and worry about it later. People who lose their jobs have to wait a few weeks for unemployment cheques (I know it’s direct deposit, you get my drift) to arrive, this should have been treated the same way. Instead, everyone who put their name in started getting cheques and surprise, surprise, 6 years later, nobody has money to pay it back.

    18. localsonlynokooks on

      I’ve noticed that all the people who complained loudly about Covid benefits took those benefits themselves. So many people I know that went on and on about CERB being a free communist handout, but then they themselves took cerb when they were still working. Then they complained about Trudeau “stealing” their tax refunds the next year.

    19. irishgalintdot on

      It was a shit show the way they rolled it out. I know someone who had a baby March 2020, she was a waitress who made good money because she didn’t claim her tips, so her mat leave EI was going to be peanuts. Timing worked out for her, she went on CERB and was getting $500/week. So there were still some people who could somewhat game the system in a sense.

    22. Strict_Bid5536 on

      I would say this couple has to pay it back , but enough with these kinds of people. Start going after the corporation and large companies that took the bailout.

    23. thestreetiliveon on

      Is this why I haven’t gotten any replies or updates to my “absolutely unrelated to Covid” forms/questions/etc.?

    25. NothingGloomy9712 on

      The only condition I have for COVID repayment forgiveness is that I get a payout cheque for working through as an essential service worker.

      People complained about how bad it was dealing with being at home, so you have any idea what it was like dealing with people with a questionable mental state when they did go out? Back to back to back, people freaking out over someone standing too close, expecting me to tell some guy to put a mask on.

      If they get forgiveness, I want compensation for dealing with them.

    26. YYCpops on

      After spending 5 years in the CERB/CRB support during Covid and after Covid, this is a clear case of ineligibility.

      Many people calculated the 50% reduction wrong. Many people thought if hours were reduced, they qualified. But there was more to it than just a reduction in hours.

      **In short: The weekly average during a CRB pay period must be reduced by at least 50% compared to the weekly average of an entire year.**

      **Easy explanation in an example**

      * Total yearly income: $26,000

      * Weekly average: $26,000 / 52 = $500

      * 50% of the weekly average: $500 x 50% = $250

      If you earned more than $250 weekly you are not eligible for CRB.

      I am quite sure she didn’t meet that criteria. 99% of applicants did not read this small print that was clearly visible in the requirements overview.

    29. Fair_mont on

      I seem to remember the govt saying they would pay out to get people through but if anyone was deemed ineligible they would collect later. But at the time they just wanted to ensure people had money to get by and didn’thave the resources to properly assess applications as too many.

    30. Walkinghawk22 on

      Good there’s nothing to be confused about since when is the government giving out free money lol ? Just people gaming the system and getting karma

    31. Vayloravex on

      How do you even get 33k in benefits? Also, it was widespread knowledge that it is not free money and you might have to pay some of it back if you got more than you qualified for.

    34. teddy_boy_gamma on

      because of tariff uncertainty do you know government of canada is now tightening pockets even more? CRA is asking Shopify to retain 8 years database so it can audit on income for tax evasion! and COVID clawbacks and job cuts you know government is doing everything to save money!

      [https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/01/02/federal-appeal-court-orders-shopify-to-retain-data-related-to-cra-case/](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/01/02/federal-appeal-court-orders-shopify-to-retain-data-related-to-cra-case/)

    35. Lord_Space_Lizard on

      They overpaid me CERB and at the time I thought “pretty sure they overpaid me” I spent some of the overpayment because at the time I needed the money, and I put the rest aside because I knew they would eventually come looking for it.

      Lo and behold the CRA came knocking and wanted it back.

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