Madam Speaker, I am very happy to respond to the question from the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge regarding the Canada emergency wage subsidy and its effect on small businesses.
The Canada Revenue Agency recognizes that businesses and organizations of all sizes have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and is making it a priority to deliver CEWS and the new Canada emergency rent subsidy payments as quickly as possible.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has worked closely with businesses to understand their needs and provide them with support that will help them quickly rehire workers laid off due to COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the CRA has time and again mobilized in a concerted and nimble way to develop and implement, in record time, the numerous programs and systems needed to quickly deliver funds to businesses and individuals during this very difficult time.
In the case of the Canada emergency wage subsidy, 1.6 million claims were processed, representing almost $50-billion worth of support delivered to employers. This is an outstanding accomplishment.
The CRA is committed to maintaining a balance between making emergency funds accessible to businesses that urgently need this support, while preserving the fairness and integrity of our tax system and administering the laws adopted by Parliament.
Conducting verifications is one of the ways the CRA can protect the integrity of its programs that provide needed support for businesses and communities using tax dollars. The initial CEWS verifications included a limited sample and covered a wide range of businesses. In fact, CEWS's post-payment verifications impact less than 0.1% of CEWS recipients. Small businesses were not being unfairly included. There have been fewer than 90 verifications involving small businesses. This is in spite of the fact that small businesses, which have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, have accounted for over 70% of applications in each period of the CEWS.
It is plain for any reasonable person to see that small businesses have, in fact, not been unfairly included as part of these necessary and useful verifications. The CRA must do its due diligence and ensure those receiving emergency response benefits are entitled to them. Canadians can have confidence that the CRA will protect the integrity of programs that provide needed support for businesses using their tax dollars.
The preliminary results from post-payment verifications will inform the CRA not only on the level of compliance with respect to this benefit program, but also on conducting compliance activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and, by extension, other global crises. Given the size of the CEWS, the CRA needs to administer it fairly for all employers. Preliminary CEWS verifications selected a limited sample, and they are in many business ranges.
I would mention in closing that we respect and acknowledge the House's formal opinion on this important matter, as articulated in a resolution of the House adopted on November 4. I can assure Canadians that the CRA is committed to maintaining a balance between making emergency funds accessible to businesses that urgently need this support, while preserving the fairness and the integrity of our tax system in administering the legislation as adopted by Parliament.