A B.C. man owes $27,000 in COVID benefit repayments. He's fighting back and is not the only one

Legal warnings coming to recover CERB payments CTV News' Kamil Karamali says legal warnings from the CRA will be sent to Canadians have who have yet to repay CERB overpayments.

A Vancouver man is fighting back against the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) claims that he wasn't eligible to receive COVID benefits during the pandemic and owes the government more than $27,000, arguing that the agency is "unfairly targeting" him for mistakes made by others when filing tax documents.

Patrick Masse, a musician and LGBTQIA2S+ advocate in B.C., says the CRA is taking issue with his inability to prove that his income in 2019 exceeded $5,000 -- which was the minimum amount required to prove an individual had generated income before the pandemic hit.

"When I read all the language, I realized I qualified for it so I jumped on it, because I didn't have any other source of income during the lockdown, nothing," said Masse in an interview with CTV News on Sunday from Edmonton.

Masse says he worked contract positions prior to the pandemic lockdowns, but the odd music gig didn't add up to what he needed to prove he generated enough income in 2019.

He says there was also an error made by AIDS Vancouver, in submitting a T4A slip that showed Masse's income for a contract position.

"The CRA said AIDS Vancouver put it in the wrong box in a T4A which I have no control over," said Masse.

"They're disputing the $10,000 social media income through my company that is registered with the CRA."

A CRA statement of account shared by Masse to CTV News shows that the Vancouver-native received COVID-19 government funds under the Canada Emergency and Recovery Benefits (CERB), the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Recovery and Sickness Benefit (CRSB) from April 2020 to June 2022.

The document shows that Masse owes the CRA $27,606.61.

"I don't have any money," said Masse, when asked in an interview about his plan to repay the CRA. "Where are they going to get the money from? You can't take blood from a stone."

Masse says he disputed the amount, which was reviewed twice, but it was determined by the agency that a repayment was still owed.

The Member of Parliament for his riding of Vancouver East, Jenny Kwan, penned a letter to the CRA advocating for Masse in November 2022.

"We actually have a contract that he has with AIDS Vancouver and there are invoices that he has issued that's related to the work that he's done," said Kwan over a ZOOM interview on Sunday.

"This has happened, by the way, to other constituents of mine whose income is less regular if you will, on a contract basis," added Kwan.

She said the CRA told her that they need verification to show that a person's money has gone into their bank account, but Kwan says that's not always the process for low-income earners.

"People who are on a tight income, whose income finances are coming and going very rapidly, a lot of people don't deposit that money into their account, they literally cash the cheque," said Kwan.

The CRA said it began sending out legal warnings in the beginning July to Canadians who, it says, were not eligible for COVID benefits, but applied and received the money, and have not yet paid it back.

The agency said it's trying to recover $9.53 billion in COVID benefits, with more than $5 billion from CERB benefits alone.

Tax lawyer Mark Feigenbaum says the CRA has their work cut out for them, adding it may take some time until the agency can recoup these payments.

"I think one of the biggest challenges is people who have spent the money and don't have the ability to repay it, there's finding and tracking down these people," Feigenbaum said in an interview on Sunday.

He says trying to escape the CRA might be a losing cause.

"[The CRA] can garnish wages, it can take away refunds that were entitled to you, it can take away GST credit, or any other type of credit you're getting, it can seize assets of yours."

He said that if an individual fails both reviews by the CRA in their dispute to repay the money, they can take the issue to federal court.

"[The federal court] doesn't determine whether the individual taxpayer owes the money or not, they look at the fairness of the process and whether the CRA acted in a reasonable manner in coming to their decision."

In response, the CRA told CTV News in an email on Sunday that "confidentiality provisions" prevent the agency from commenting on specific taxpayer situations. But the CRA "recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for many Canadians and remains committed to being compassionate, flexible, and supportive during this challenging time."

The agency also said it has flexible payment arrangements that allow individuals to pay over a longer period based on their ability to pay.

"We will always strive to support anyone experiencing financial hardship, to the best of our ability," the CRA statement continued.

Masse says he's now scrounged up enough documents to show he made a minimum of $5,000 in 2019, but says the CRA is no longer calling him back.

"I'm shocked," he added. "It just stresses me out. I don't see why they're coming after me, I have nothing."