ISAC Staff Lawyer Nabila Qureshi was recently interviewed for a Business in Vancouver article on the CERB overpayment issues still plaguing many low income workers across the country.
The article speaks to the overwhelming need for more legal supports for those facing down a CRA repayment order, as the main avenue to challenge the CRA is federal court.
Nabila spoke about the types of workers who are facing CRA repayment debts – they are house cleaners, babysitters, or artists, all of whom are usually paid cash and rarely issued proof in the form of contracts or receipts. Nabila also highlighted the CRA’s harsh and unrealistic criteria for proving eligibility, with decision letters that have very little information indicating why or how the CRA makes it decisions during its review of these file.
Read the whole article on Business in Vancouver‘s website here.
If you are looking for support with challenging a CRA decision on emergency pandemic benefit eligibility and you live in Ontario, you may be able to find support through Pro Bono Ontario’s related program, which is supported by ISAC and Osler LLP. More details on the program, which launched in 2024, are here. You can also review these resources and webinar produced by ISAC and CLEO in 2023.