COVID-19 benefit repayment is hurting low-income Canadians, report says

According to a report from Maytree, a think-tank and advocacy group that studies poverty, those recollection efforts disproportionately affect low-income Canadians who can't pay, and ultimately cost more than they recover.

It calls for an end to the government's efforts to recover pandemic benefits.

In total, Ottawa distributed about $14 billion in COVID-related benefits to individuals who didn't meet the Canada Revenue Agency's income requirements. Most of that sum was provided under the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) and later the Canada recovery benefit (CRB).

By the end of last November, the CRA reported that $10 billion was outstanding, over $8 billion of which was owed on CERB and CRB payouts. CBC News reached out to the CRA for updated figures, but the agency was unable to provide them after more than two weeks of requests.

CRA says it's owed $10 billion in COVID-related benefits sent to ineligible recipients