Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach said he was disappointed to learn about the Liberal government’s plan to punish those who are wrongfully taking advantage of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his decision Tuesday (June 9) during his daily briefing after the opposing governments criticized the decision.
According to Bachrach, when the CERB program was first announced the NDP government made it clear that some of the criteria were confusing for people.
Bachrach said bringing the penalties late into the CERB program is unfair to Canadians.
“There are Canadians who needed financial help, applied to the program in good faith, and may not have met the exact criteria but still needed the help and we don’t feel like those people should be penalized,” he said.
The bill proposed anyone who was taking advantage of the program to be fined up to $5,000 for illegally claiming benefits and in serious cases, there could be a jail sentence for six months.
Trudeau also said during his briefing people who made honest mistakes will not be punished.
Bachrach added the Liberal Government should explain how they plan to tell the difference between serious fraud and Canadians who needed help but didn’t meet the criteria.
Bachrach said he has heard concerns from residents in the region about the program and if there would be repercussions if they made a mistake.
“The message that was coming early on was that the government wanted to get these benefits out there, they wanted as many people to apply for them as possible and so that’s the message we passed along,” he said.
The bill is currently stuck in its first reading due to the opposing governments disapproving of the legislation.
According to Bachrach, since it is a minority government there needs to be at least one opposing government to approve of the bill.