Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister, for being at our committee today. I want to follow up MP Kent's concerns about repayment of benefits.
I've had a number of constituents—it seems this is a trend across the country—who have reached out to me specifically regarding the letter they received from the CRA. These letters state that they have until December 31 to repay the CERB they've collected or they will be taxed in the next year. These constituents applied at the direction of Service Canada, but now have been told that they were ineligible because the income threshold was based on net income and not gross income.
One constituent—and this is a little concerning to me—was even told by a Service Canada agent that the government wanted to get money in the hands of people as quickly as possible and that the rules were developed later. I'm sure you would agree that these individuals—I would say most of them—applied in good faith, according to the information provided to them, but now they're facing hardship at Christmastime. When these constituents do call in to attempt to make flexible arrangements, they're put on hold endlessly. In some cases, they're disconnected, so they've waited for hours and then are disconnected.
I'm just wondering, Minister, what steps you are taking to ensure that these Canadians who received misinformation about CERB are not facing undue hardship this Christmas.