The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced late Friday evening that approximately 600 of its employees are currently under investigation for allegedly receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) without it. be entitled during the pandemic, according to the Globe & Mail.
The CRA said 20 of the affected employees are no longer with the organization. The CRA was one of the main organizations responsible for administering the CERB, a program that offered $500 to workers deprived of work due to COVID-19.
The agency said an extensive internal review process was underway to identify any individuals who improperly received CERB payments while employed by the CRA.
“We are currently investigating a very limited number of our employees, approximately 600 employees, or less than 1% of the total CRA workforce. Being a current CRA employee does not necessarily mean that a person was not eligible for the CERB,” the CRA said.
“An internal review process to investigate each case is warranted as the CRA employs people with a variety of job profiles, [certaines ont par exemple] temporary contracts [ou] students; and, as such, individuals may have been eligible for CERB at the time it was available,” the agency added.
The CRA has advised that if misconduct is confirmed, disciplinary action will be taken against employees.