Mr. Speaker, regarding the above-noted question, the CRA has been asked to respond on behalf of the government as of October 18, 2022.
The Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) was specifically designed to provide millions of Canadians with payments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The applicant must attest that they meet the eligibility criteria for the application and, after the fact, CRA may verify the information that was submitted.
Safeguards are in place to identify and prevent high-risk or potentially suspicious applications from being fully processed. Verification activities are undertaken. These are being used, along with other relevant information available to the CRA, to validate eligibility. If any payments are found to have been made to an individual deemed ineligible, the claimants will be contacted to make arrangements to repay any applicable amounts.
The determination of fraud is a question of fact, and each case must be considered individually to determine whether a claim for benefit is the result of an honest error or a misrepresentation. Each situation is unique, and it is important to note that the verification work on a specific file may take several months, but the overall verification work for all files will take several years.
The CRA is committed to ensuring that the CERB and other emergency benefits were claimed only by those who are eligible.
In response to parts (a) to (e) of the question, the CRA does not capture information in the manner described in the question.