Thank you very much, Chair.
I would like to begin by thanking the minister for her direct answers in committees of the House and the Senate during the COVID pandemic, which is a sterling example, I think, for some of her cabinet colleagues.
Chair, I'd like to begin today with a letter from a Thornhill constituent, David Burke, who writes: “I received a letter from CRA yesterday saying they would not confirm that I met the requirements under CERB, namely, that I earned a self-employment income of at least $5,000 during 2019, or for the previous 12 months from the date of my first application for CERB.”
He writes, “I did in fact earn over $13,000 during 2019, but with some expenses, depreciation and home office expenses it brought my net income to zero. The website for CERB made no mention of net income, but rather asked if I earned self-employment income of at least $5,000 during 2019. I believe they are now changing the rules and they are asking for the money back.”
“Money in the bank,” Mr. Burke writes, “versus tax return at net income are two distinct things. One is accounting, the other is real life. Please try to rectify this problem.”
Chair, through you, does the minister see where the original wording promoting CERB was misleading for thousands of self-employed Canadians?