Tens of thousands of employers ‘ineligible’ for CEWS

December 12, 2022

Tens of thousands of Canadian employers that received the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) were ineligible for the government benefit.

That’s according to a scathing report from the Auditor General of Canada.

It states that 51,049 employers received $9.87 billion in CEWS payments even though their monthly GST/HST filings “did not demonstrate a sufficient revenue drop to be eligible for this subsidy.”

Overall, $15.5 billion was paid to recipients that should be investigated further, says the report.

While the subsidy supported employers in sectors that suffered the biggest employment declines, “it was difficult to assess the impact of the program and how effectively the program met its objectives because of the limited information employers were required to provide upon application.”

“The Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada 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,” says the report, which makes several recommendations for improvements.
“Finally, we concluded that the department and the agency were not performing a sufficient number of post-payment verifications to be able to identify payments made to ineligible recipients.”

Source: HR Reporter