Mr. Chair, I am happy to answer questions today on the Auditor General's report on the COVID-19 benefits. I am joined by the people you have already named very well, so I won't repeat their names.
We want to thank the Office of the Auditor General for this work and for the report.
I also want to recognize that we are gathering today on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe nation.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we acted quickly to provide access to emergency income support to millions of Canadians, including the self-employed
With Parliament’s support, the CERB was implemented with an attestation-based application process, rather than upfront controls. This approach allowed us to process applications and deliver the CERB as quickly as possible in April of 2020.
The front-end attestation-based application process was balanced by the back-end risk-based integration framework, focused on fraud detection prevention measures as well as postpayment verification of claimants' eligibility.
The International Public Sector Fraud Forum has acknowledged that the attestation-based process is the best practice when providing emergency support. Right from the start, we made it clear that eligibility would be verified after the fact using tax data.
Overall, the Auditor General’s report found the government’s COVID-19 benefit programs—including the CERB—achieved their objectives in terms of helping mitigate poverty and income inequality as well as facilitating an economic rebound.
We now have a strong plan to conduct post-payment verification and we are carrying out this work methodically.
Data analytics has assessed 100% of all the CERB applications for potential ineligibility. As of January 6, 2023, ESDC has sent 55,000 fact-finding letters to potentially ineligible recipients requesting proof of eligibility. We also have issued 1.8 million overpayment notices to individuals to reconcile advance payments of emergency benefits.
This money flowed to people quickly, as you may remember, within days of applying, and then needed to be reconciled after. We have recovered $1.68 billion from more than 1.8 million Canadians as of January 6 from those overpayments.
We have the resources to perform these integrity measures. ESDC has committed to completing 157,000 postpayment verifications over the four-year period. It would not be cost-effective nor keeping with international or industry best practices to investigate 100% of potential ineligible claims. I also want to be clear that this approach is evergreen and will be adapted as the circumstances warrant.
Many Canadians may have acted in good faith at the time they applied for and received benefits, even though they were ineligible.
Through rigorous post-payment verification activities, applicants found to be ineligible for the CERB or who made fraudulent claims will be required to repay the amount owed.
The Government of Canada is committed to working with Canadians to ensure they will not be put into financial hardship by having to repay the emergency benefits they received. This reflects our “people first” empathetic approach.
Mr. Chair, we appreciate the Auditor General's recommendations, and they will, of course, inform our work going forward.
Thank you.