A minimum of $27.4 billion in suspicious COVID-19 benefit payments need to be investigated, as the Canadian government did not manage the aid programs in an efficient manner, the auditor general found..According to Auditor General Karen Hogan's report, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) did not manage the selected COVID‑19 programs efficiently, "given the significant amount paid to ineligible recipients, the limited adjustments as programs were extended, and the slow progress on post‑payment verifications.".A total of $210 billion in payments was made to the federal government's six COVID-19 financial aid programs. These included the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy ($100.7 billion), Canada Emergency Response Benefit ($74.8 billion), Canada Recovery Benefit ($28.4 billion), Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit ($4.4 billion), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit ($1.5 billion), and the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit ($900 million)..The audit lauded the emergency programs for quickly delivering financial aid to Canadians, preventing a rise in poverty and helping the economy to recover. But the CRA and ESDC failed, in many cases, to confirm the eligibility of applicants for the programs..The report said the agencies focused on reviewing Canadians' eligibility after payments had already been issued.."The risk that some recipients might not be eligible for benefits they received made verifying eligibility after payment all the more important," it said..About $4.6 billion of overpayments were made to ineligible recipients of benefits, while an additional $27.4 billion of payments were made to individuals and employers which should be investigated further..There was $1.6 billion given to Canadians who quit their jobs as opposed to losing them due to COVID-19, $6.1 million was given to incarcerated recipients, and $1.2 million doled out to dead people.."A more definitive estimate of payments made to ineligible recipients and amounts to be recovered by the government will be determined only after the agency and the department have completed their post-payment verifications," said the report. .The CRA and ESDC failed to develop "rigorous and comprehensive" plans to verify the eligibility of recipients, according to the report. There have been delays in conducting post-payment verifications and the collection of the amounts owed has begun..The report said according to the CRA and ESDC, they had recuperated $2.3 billion in overpayments for summer 2022.."However, the government's collection efforts have been limited, and it is likely a significant amount of the money will not be recovered," it said.
