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Results: 91 - 105 of 566
View Peter Kent Profile
CPC (ON)
View Peter Kent Profile
2021-02-01 14:42 [p.3830]
Mr Speaker, the Conservatives have supported, from the start, emergency funding to help the pandemic unemployed to buy groceries, pay rent and mortgages. Yesterday, a 21-year-old Kingston student boasted in the New York Times that he made $9,000 by making a highly speculative investment of his CERB dollars in a stock market play.
Given that emergency support will be necessary for many more months because of the Liberal vaccine shortfall, how can the government explain easy cash for a stock market play, even as thousands of other Canadians are still denied funds to survive?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2021-02-01 14:44 [p.3830]
Mr. Speaker, when Canadians needed support the most, the CERB was there to help over nine million people pay their bills and support their families. It was there to support workers who were unable to work because of COVID. If an applicant was over 15 years old and met all the other criteria, yes, they were able to receive the benefit. We made every effort to support as many Canadian workers as possible, including young Canadians. Many young people work to help support their families, while other live independently and have bills to pay. We are not going to apologize for helping young people.
View Richard Cannings Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, at the start of this pandemic almost a year ago, many Canadian workers suddenly lost their work. Millions found themselves without an income and with no way to pay for rent or food. The Liberal government suggested that we could fix that with tweaks to the employment insurance system. The NDP pointed out that most Canadian workers did not even qualify for EI because they are self employed. They are artists, musicians, or contract workers, or workers in the gig economy. Most of them make modest incomes, but are proud that they can work and make enough to get by.
The NDP suggested that all these workers should receive $2,000 per month to keep their lives together, so they could keep their homes and keep food on the table, and thankfully the government ended up agreeing with us and CERB was born. The Prime Minister said repeatedly that the government would always be there for these workers. When nine million workers applied for CERB, they had to attest that they had made more than $5,000 in total income in the last 12 months. Now we hear that 400,000 of these workers who applied for CERB in good faith and met those criteria have received letters demanding that they repay thousands of dollars in CERB payments. They received those letters just before Christmas. Many of them simply do not have the money to repay, and they should not have to. They followed the rules.
The bill this House voted on to create CERB defined those eligible for support as “a person who...for 2019 or in the 12-month period preceding the day on which they make an application under section 5, has a total income of at least $5,000”. The CRA website listed the eligible sources of income to include income from self employment. That is the bill that I and other members of the House voted for. It clearly stated “total income”, not “net income” and not “taxable income”. Now the government has changed the rules to say that the $5,000 should be net income.
One of my constituents, Carol, made just under $10,000 in that previous year, but the CRA now says that she made just under $5,000, a few dollars less than the limit, so she was one of the ones who got a letter asking her to repay her CERB supports. It was Carol I was talking about in my question to the Prime Minister, and it was his unhelpful answer that triggered this adjournment debate. Carol was so disappointed with the Prime Minister's reply that she wrote him a long, desperate letter outlining why she had applied for CERB, why she was qualified to receive it and why she cannot possibly pay the money back without losing everything, including her business.
Carol is not alone. I also heard from Jai, who also qualified under the total income provisions, but is now being asked to repay $6,000. Jai is living with disabilities and a low income, and for her $6,000 is an impossible sum to repay. We are hearing from thousands of Canadians, people with home-based aesthetics salons who closed their doors to protect public health and reopened when they were allowed to, but now face greatly reduced business. These business owners had small incomes to help them get by. Those incomes are largely gone because of COVID. They cannot repay these supports they thought the government was giving them to make sure that they and their businesses survived. They are angry, disappointed and, frankly, they are scared.
When will the government admit that it made the mistake here, and not these hard-working Canadians?
View Irek Kusmierczyk Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Irek Kusmierczyk Profile
2021-02-01 18:46 [p.3861]
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay for his question. His constituents are well served by his advocacy.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been there for Canadian workers and continue to be there for them. Of all the programs and benefits, the CERB was the main support piece. We listened to Canadians. It helped nearly nine million workers and their families to avoid hardship.
When businesses were first shuttered last spring, our aim was to get income support into the hands of workers, including the self-employed, as quickly as possible. From the start, we used the same definition of self-employment income that we use for entitlement to every Government of Canada benefit, that is people look at their revenue and take off their expenses, which gives them their net pre-tax income. However, as the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion stated, we know that some people misunderstood the definition.
Before I go on, I would like to recognize the work of the call centre employees from CRA and Service Canada. They have done an outstanding job of supporting Canadians through this ongoing pandemic, and they deserve our praise.
We also know that in the initial weeks after the CERB was launched, some of the information provided was at times unclear. We are actively looking at options to respond to the concerns raised by some self-employed Canadians about the eligibility criteria and the information they received. We know very well that for some individuals, repaying the CERB could represent significant financial hardship. I again want to be very clear about the fact that no one is being asked to make a repayment at this time.
First things first: What we need to do is confirm people's eligibility for the CERB. Of the nearly nine million people who got the CERB, we reached out to about 5% of applicants with our education letters. If an individual chooses to restart repaying amounts for which they were not eligible, flexible repayment options are available based on their individual financial situation. We know that for some this could be difficult. That is why there is going to be a compassionate case-by-case approach to repayment.
We are still in a pandemic crisis. That is the reality. During this difficult time, we will continue to stand by Canadian workers and their families.
View Richard Cannings Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, these hard-working Canadians are not asking for more time to pay back these benefits. They did nothing wrong. For them, the CERB payments did exactly what they were designed to do. They allowed them to keep living in dignity while working as much as they could under the circumstances.
On the other side of the coin, many large corporations received millions in wage subsidies to keep workers on the payroll. That is exactly what the wage subsidies were meant to do. What they were not meant to do was enrich shareholders with generous dividends. Unfortunately, at least 68 companies did just that. Imperial Oil, for instance, received $120 million in government wage subsidies while paying out $324 million in dividends. There is very clearly a double standard here.
The government is demanding that low-income workers who struggled through the pandemic repay the money they received even though they followed all the rules. It is not, however, asking the same of big corporations that used taxpayers' money to pay massive dividends to their shareholders.
View Irek Kusmierczyk Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Irek Kusmierczyk Profile
2021-02-01 18:47 [p.3862]
Madam Speaker, as the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion said, it is unfair to say that we are going after workers. The entire intention of the CERB was to protect people from potentially catastrophic income loss, and it worked.
I want to reassure Canadians who got a letter from the CRA that it does not mean they were ineligible for the CERB. It just means that the CRA needs more information from them. One way to provide the information the CRA needs is for Canadians to file their tax returns for both 2019 and 2020. It is too soon to talk about repayment. Repayment plans, if needed, will be worked out on a case-by-case basis.
I would like to thank the member once again for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents.
View Gord Johns Profile
NDP (BC)
View Gord Johns Profile
2021-01-28 15:09 [p.3720]
Mr. Speaker, Jackie, a constituent of mine in Port Alberni, is self-employed and her home-based business has struggled since the beginning of the pandemic. Jackie applied for the CERB because she was told she could. She used the help to pay bills and support her family because she did not qualify for any small business supports.
The Liberals are now telling Jackie she needs to pay the CERB back. Meanwhile, some rich corporations that received the wage subsidy have been paying out millions to shareholders, but the government is not going after them. Why is the government going after Jackie and other Canadians who did nothing wrong, while refusing to hold the ultra wealthy accountable?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2021-01-28 15:09 [p.3721]
Mr. Speaker, when the pandemic hit, we quickly introduced the CERB, helping 8.9 million Canadians put food on their table. We know this continues to be a difficult time for many. No one, not Jackie or any Canadian, is required to make repayments at this time. In fact, we are actively looking at options to support Canadians where it is determined they were ineligible.
As the Prime Minister has said, we are going to work with Canadians who need to make repayments in a way that is flexible for them and understanding their unique circumstances. There will be no penalties or interest for anyone who made mistakes in good faith.
View Laurel Collins Profile
NDP (BC)
View Laurel Collins Profile
2021-01-27 14:58 [p.3634]
Mr. Speaker, over the holidays, the government sent anxiety-inducing letters to close to half a million Canadians, most of whom applied for the CERB in good faith. Some were given incorrect information by the government, a government that is now threatening to make them pay back thousands of dollars in the middle of a pandemic. At the same time, the Prime Minister refuses to make companies like Imperial Oil, which took the wage subsidy and then handed out millions to shareholders and CEOs, pay back a single cent.
Why are the Liberals going after Canadians who are struggling, who did nothing wrong, yet refusing to hold their corporate friends accountable?
View Justin Trudeau Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Justin Trudeau Profile
2021-01-27 14:59 [p.3634]
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning of this pandemic, we made a straightforward promise to Canadians: that we would have their backs. That is exactly what we did. We sent out unprecedented help to millions of Canadians who suddenly found themselves unable to work or without a job because of this pandemic. We have continued to support Canadians, and we will work with Canadians who are worried to ensure that there are no penalties and no late fees involved as a result of being misunderstood. We will work with them on a case-by-case basis.
At the same time, we will continue to ensure that all the rules were enforced, and anyone who was profiteering or taking advantage of the processes will—
View Paul Manly Profile
GP (BC)
View Paul Manly Profile
2021-01-27 17:09 [p.3643]
Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to table e-petition 3066, which was signed by 7,312 Canadians.
The petitioners are concerned that 441,000 Canadians received letters stating that they may have to pay back the CERB because of ineligibility. They note that the government has admitted it was not clear about CERB eligibility for self-employed workers and that CRA agents provided incorrect information. Even government MPs did not know the rules. Many self-employed Canadians will have a great deal of difficulty repaying this emergency benefit, which they applied for in good faith.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to retroactively allow self-employed Canadians to use their gross, pre-tax income before business expenses when determining their CERB eligibility.
View Randall Garrison Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to my neighbour's speech, and he really did a good job of laying out where we are presently.
What I am hearing in my riding is that most people are still very much in the pandemic. While we need to think about what is ahead, we also need to take care of those who are in need now. We are seeing a phenomenon in which independent professionals, artists and some small business people who were in need applied for CERB in good faith, but they are now being threatened with clawbacks because of the CRA's interpretation of the rules.
Can the member comment on how unjust that is?
View Alistair MacGregor Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke for raising that important issue. I want to contrast that particular issue with the fact that some large corporations received federal assistance and then used that money to actually pay out dividends to their investors. They are not being chased down by the federal government. They are not being penalized. However, Canadians who made applications in good faith are being penalized. This is the completely wrong direction, especially when some Liberal MPs are encouraging people to apply in good faith.
When we are in the middle of a pandemic, we need to start taking care of people's immediate needs, not threaten them with this over-the-top, heavy-handed approach. I agree with the member that we need a different approach. The Liberals should be looking, in fact, at corporations that have benefited from this pandemic.
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-01-27 18:09 [p.3651]
Madam Speaker, before I get to my question on the issue of government expenditures, I will point out many of the investments we have made, though they are expensive, will actually reduce the overall cost to government, because the cost of not supporting households and businesses to get through this pandemic is far greater than the cost of making sure they can survive and preventing that economic scarring.
The thesis the member led off with was effectively that the government should not just be spending money, but figuring out whether there is value received for that money. I want to talk about one specific program. His leader has repeatedly criticized in public the Canada emergency response benefit, or CERB as it has become known to Canadians. It has now reached nearly nine million Canadians to help them keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables for their families.
Does he agree with his leader that this program was completely screwed up or does he believe that the Canada emergency response benefit actually provided value for money to Canadian households?
View Damien Kurek Profile
CPC (AB)
View Damien Kurek Profile
2021-01-27 18:10 [p.3651]
Madam Speaker, there it is. He is putting words in the mouth of the Leader of the Opposition. Let me clarify for the member. In fact, Conservatives were there in the beginning when CERB was first introduced understanding that the unprecedented circumstances that we all faced needed unprecedented action. Conservatives were there and not only were we there, but we were doing everything we could to be collaborative in the process to ensure that it would be effective, to ensure that it would be spent the right way, and to ensure that the formulas being used would balance accountability with the need to get dollars in the pockets of Canadians.
In fact, we made further suggestions about the way it could have been administered, which the government decided not to follow. That is its right, but likewise, it needs to accept the consequences of some of those decisions and, now, the challenges that have arisen as a result. Canadians needed support, yes, but when it comes to the question of effectiveness of this program, it is not immune from criticism. In fact, it is responsible for many of the challenges we are faced with.
Results: 91 - 105 of 566 | Page: 7 of 38

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