By Catherine Morrison
The Canadian Press
Posted December 31, 2025 12:57 pm
1 min read
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The Canada Revenue Agency says it’s owed $10.35 billion in COVID-19 benefits.
Nina Ioussoupova, a spokesperson for the agency, says that as of Nov. 30, it had disbursed $83.5 billion in COVID benefits to Canadians, including $45.3 billion for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the financial support program known as CERB.
Ioussoupova says the CRA began sending recovery letters to individuals with debts related to COVID-19 benefits in 2023.
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Those debts, she says, arose from overpayments or from individuals who received benefits without being eligible.
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Ioussoupova says that as of Nov. 30, close to 1.4 million people have repaid approximately $3.3 billion in debts related to individual COVID-19 benefits.
Ioussoupova says the CRA takes “firm and responsible” measures against those who seek to avoid paying outstanding amounts and “may take legal action to recover the debt.”
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