Jagmeet Singh Says Some Canadians Felt Forced To Sell Their Cars To Repay CERB

Although Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) repayments have been scrapped for eligible Canadians, Jagmeet Singh says it’s too little, too late for some people.

In a tweet on February 10, the NDP leader addressed the CERB repayment changes announced by Justin Trudeau one day earlier.

Editor's Choice: Canadians Without A Negative COVID-19 Test Can't Legally Be Stopped At The Land Border

He began by saying, “2 months ago, I called on Justin Trudeau to stop going after Canadians that applied for CERB in good faith.”

“Instead, he let people worry for months,” Singh added.

While the Liberal government did announce on Tuesday that CERB repayments would no longer be expected from self-employed Canadians who incorrectly applied in “good faith,” Singh says the decision took too long to make.

According to the NDP leader, some Canadians felt forced to sell their vehicles to pay their CERB debt, as some people owed tens of thousands of dollars.

He added, “CERB was meant to help people. Not add stress at an already difficult time.”

Before agreeing to drop the repayment plan, the federal government said on multiple occasions that it would not let people off returning the money.

While officials admitted that the benefit’s eligibility criteria was unclear, Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said in January that the feds were “not in a position” to forgive people who applied incorrectly.

However, announcing the change on Tuesday, Trudeau said, “The pandemic isn’t yet over, so neither is our support.”