Fraudulent CERB applications could land Canadians with a $5,000 fine and jail time.
Trudeau said on Tuesday that his government will be looking to crack down on those who take advantage of a program intended to help Canadians.
Canadians who make fraudulent claims for the Coronavirus emergency benefit could face a fine of up to $5,000; a penalty double what they received in improper benefits and jail time.
Those who refuse to go back to work could also face financial penalties.
That’s according to a draft version of legislation expected to be tabled by the federal government on Wednesday that aims to fill in some of the gaps in the existing rules.
While the government has said from the start of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program that those making fraudulent claims will face penalties, they have not said what those penalties could be.
The draft legislation, however, lays that out for the first time.
Making a false or misleading claim, failing to declare all income, knowingly receiving an income benefit that a person isn’t eligible for, non-disclosure of facts or facilitating omission of any facts are all listed as offences under that legislation.
Committing any of them will land a person a fine of up to $5,000 “plus an amount of not more than double the amount of the income support payment that was or would have been paid as a result of committing the offence.”
Lavinia Jararuse is the Constituency Assistant with the Ottawa Constituency office.
She says individuals in the Nain area who would like to return the CERB monies back to the Government can still do so.
Jararuse says individuals who would like to return any CERB benefits can set up an appointment by calling her after work hours from 4-7 pm by email at laviniajararusemoses@hotmail.com or call her from 4pm-7pm at 709-897-5520.