The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has “no records” documenting accountability on the mismanaged $8 billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program. Through Access To Information (ATIP), Blacklock’s Reporter sought names of individuals responsible for the mismanaged pandemic relief program that paid billions in fraudulent claims. The CRA’s ATIP office however did not have any information to provide. “We have no records pertaining to this request,” wrote the CRA office in response.Revenue Commissioner Bob Hamilton had testified February 2 at the Commons Public Accounts Committee it was “a decision by the government” but would not name names.“We determined there was an increase in fraud because there were greater incentives to defraud,” testified Hamilton. “We implemented a number of fraud detection measures.” “It is nevertheless true the number of instances of fraud increased.”Ineligible claimants pocketed $7.96 billion in relief cheques, by official estimate. Audits are scheduled to continue into 2025.“It’s very difficult to know what will be left at the end of the day,” said Hamilton..Parliament in the first days of the pandemic on March 25, 2020 passed the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act to pay $2,000 a month to jobless tax filers facing eviction or foreclosure. The program was originally budgeted at $24 billion. Final costs totaled $81.6 billion.The CRA was assigned the processing of claims including verification that applicants were in fact tax filers. No upfront verification occurred. ATIP records show among irregularities were payments of $636 million claimed by children as young as 15.“Let me be clear, we are not perfect,” testified Hamilton. He added an unidentified government official told the CRA to process claims, no questions asked.“Was it the decision of the department?” asked Conservative MP Kelly McCauley.“That was a decision by the government,” replied Hamilton.“Did you advise the government there would be a very high risk of ineligible payments?” asked McCauley. “I think it was well recognized that you would increase the risk. I don’t usually talk about the advice I give to the government in public,” replied Hamilton. “It was ‘well recognized’?” asked McCauley.“I think it is recognized that if you take that kind of approach you are increasing the risk,” replied Hamilton.“Could we have done it differently?” asked McCauley.“It’s hard for me to see a better way at the time recognizing where we were,” replied Hamilton.No federal manager or cabinet member to date has claimed responsibility for approving the fraud-prone payment system. Liberal MPs after the fact said they assumed there would be abuses.“There is no doubt that when creating a program as quickly as we did, there is going to be some abuse of that program,” Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary to the Government House Leader, told the Commons in 2021.“I suspect when I hear from my Conservative friends they will highlight some of those problems which we are very much aware of.”
