OTTAWA -- The Canada Revenue Agency will now be requiring anyone applying for one of a trio of federal COVID-19 aid programs to declare whether their claim was made because they were self-isolating due to international travel. It’s an interim attempt to cover a loophole that has allowed Canadians to claim funding to help cover the costs of their quarantine.
In a statement from Employment and Social Development Canada, starting Jan. 11 the CRA is updating its application process for three federal COVID-19 benefits, forcing applicants to indicate whether they were quarantining due to international travel. This new requirement will apply to any claims made on or after Jan. 3.
This new disclosure will be required for anyone applying for the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit or the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit. All three are aimed at Canadians who are out of work due to COVID-19, whether they are sick or have to take care of someone who is.
Once Parliament resumes in the last week of January, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough will be tabling legislation to change the eligibility criteria. She intends to make it explicit in the law that international travellers who need to quarantine upon returning to Canada after non-essential travel such as vacationing, visiting loved ones, or attending real estate matters will not be eligible for any of the benefits during the period of time they are quarantining.
“We have heard Canadians and are tightening the eligibility criteria for our COVID recovery benefits. We will ensure that these measures have no unintended consequences and will target individuals who travel for discretionary and non-essential purposes. This is not the time to travel abroad, and if you make the choice to do so, you will not be eligible for these benefits during your mandatory quarantine period,” Qualtrough said in the statement.
In an interview on CTV’s Power Play Qualtrough said she isn’t sure how many people have applied improperly to-date, but said that going forward the federal government will be able to access the Public Health Agency of Canada’s database of who is having to quarantine due to non-essential travel outside of the country.
“If they determine that you have to quarantine because you've had a non-essential travel, then you will not be eligible for the benefits for the two weeks,” she said.
Should someone who travelled abroad then become sick and need the benefit after their 14 days of isolation had passed, they will be able to apply.
The CRA says, in the weeks ahead, processing claims for individuals who are self-isolating or in quarantine because of international travel will be delayed until the legislative changes pass, “to ensure those who receive the benefit meet the latest eligibility criteria.”
These changes come after concerns were raised about people travelling for non-essential reasons claiming the $1,000 sickness benefit to cover time off work or other costs related to completing the 14-day mandatory self-isolation following their return to Canada.
“The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, along with the other recovery benefits, was never intended to incentivize or encourage Canadians to disregard public health advice. Rather, these benefits were put in place to ensure Canadian workers could continue to make ends meet during the pandemic, and that no Canadian would have to make the choice between putting food on the table or going to work sick,” read Monday’s statement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised last week that a quick change was coming to the sick leave program, while condemning those who are travelling internationally despite the public health advice to avoid all non-essential travel.
As of January 3, 2021, more than 1.4 million applications have been submitted for the Canada Recovery Benefit; nearly 278,000 applications have been submitted for the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit; and just over 299,000 unique applications have come in for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit.
Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez said Monday that he’s spoken with his opposition counterparts about seeing these legislative changes passed through the House of Commons on MPs’ first day back. It remains to be seen whether the opposition parties will be amenable to that after some have raised concerns with the benefit package being rushed through in the first place.
