Mr. Speaker, the 2022 Fall Economic Statement proposes to automatically issue advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit, or CWB, to people who qualified for the benefit in the previous year, starting in July 2023 for the 2023 taxation year. These advance payments would represent a new minimum entitlement to the program for a year based on their income in the previous year. Changes to individuals’ incomes in the year relative to the previous year would not affect their entitlement to advance payments.
Some individuals would be entitled to more support with the implementation of this minimum entitlement than they would without it. This could include cases that are due to couple formation, such as marrying someone with a higher income, for example. This may also include individuals who received minor pay increases during the year, potentially from moving into a marginally more senior role in their workplace.
Eligibility to receive advance payments during the course of a year would cease in cases where an individual is incarcerated for a period of 90 days or more; moves out of the country; or dies before the start of the benefit year. Individuals are encouraged to notify the Canada Revenue Agency promptly where any of these changes in circumstance occurs to ensure that payments cease, and it is anticipated that overpayments due to payments made after one of these changes in circumstance would be rare.
If an individual were to receive advance payments that exceed the advance payments to which they are legally entitled, either due to one of the changes in circumstance noted above not being reported on a timely basis or due to a reassessment of their tax return for the previous year, any resulting overpayment would be recovered in the same manner as for other benefits based on prior-year income, such as the GST Credit. In particular, the Canada Revenue Agency may keep all or a portion of any future payments due to the individual until the amount is repaid.
Overall disbursements of the Canada Workers Benefit to low- and middle-income Canadians will exceed $4 billion in 2023-24. These incremental entitlements are estimated to cost $750 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year. In a typical year, the Canada Workers Benefit supports over 3 million Canadians. Given the changes in employment that Canadians face – whether it is a change in the number of hours worked or in the role in which they are working – the advance payments would support up to 1.2 million additional individuals in a year.