Almost 100,000 students in Canada may be able to dodge full CERB repayments after the feds discovered an "inequity" in the current system.
It means eligible students will be able to deduct the amount they could have received under the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) from the CERB repayments they're expected to cover.
According to CBC News, as many as 98,000 Canadian students could be impacted.
Canada's Minister of Employment, Carla Qualtrough, told CBC that when the feds were following up on repayments, they realized that many students had claimed the CERB rather than the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two benefits are a little different, as CERB was intended to pay workers who were out of pocket due to the pandemic, while CESB was designed to help students who were unable to find work in the first place due to COVID-19.
The CERB paid out a little more at $2,000 per month, while the student program offered $1,250 a month.
Some students who claimed the wrong benefit, and were later found to be ineligible for the money, have been told that they must repay thousands of dollars.
However, Qualtrough says a June 2 remission order aims to put this "inequity" right.
"If we determine that you owe money for CERB, you may say to yourself, well if I'd known I wasn't eligible for the CERB, I would have applied for the student benefit because I know I was eligible for that," Qualtrough said.
"You're the person we're going to help with this. You're the person for whom we are correcting this inequity."
The difference between the CERB and CESB amounts can now be used to reduce the repayments some students owe.
For example, if a student owed $2,000 to the feds in CERB repayments, they may be able to deduct $1,250 from this total.
According to Qualtrough, this will "really significantly offset any amount that people will be deemed to owe in repayment of the CERB."
To qualify for the repayment reduction, students must have applied for the CERB no later than September 30, 2020. Additionally, they must not have received other benefits at the same time, including Employment Insurance (EI).
Full eligibility information can be found online.
The CRA does not have plans to reach out directly to students who may be eligible but says it will reimburse anybody who qualifies for the reduction and has already repaid the CERB in full.
Those who believe they meet the conditions of eligibility can apply via a form online.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
