OPEN LETTER to Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

I am writing you today to request that your office undertake to address the delays and technical errors that my constituents are experiencing with the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), and the new temporary changes to Employment Insurance (EI).
I have heard from two different constituents who received the same error message, COV-26, while attempting to apply for the CRB. The error apparently appears because CRA deems that the applicants have an active EI claim within the last 52 weeks which prevents them from accessing the CRB. However, both my constituents have not received any EI benefits in the last 52 weeks. They applied for EI when the pandemic first started and were transitioned to CERB as that was the policy in place.

"October 16, 2020

Dear Minister Freeland and Minister Qualtrough,

Open Letter RE: COV-26 and other errors with the CRB and EI application system

I am writing you today to request that your office undertake to address the delays and technical errors that my constituents are experiencing with the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), and the new temporary changes to Employment Insurance (EI).

I have heard from two different constituents who received the same error message, COV-26, while attempting to apply for the CRB. The error apparently appears because CRA deems that the applicants have an active EI claim within the last 52 weeks which prevents them from accessing the CRB. However, both my constituents have not received any EI benefits in the last 52 weeks. They applied for EI when the pandemic first started and were transitioned to CERB as that was the policy in place.

One of the constituents continued following up with Service Canada and found out why this error was appearing. He reached a Service Canada agent via phone and learned that his EI claim was in fact denied earlier this year. The Service Canada agent instructed him to submit the letter of denial to the CRA which would hopefully fix the issue with the COV-26 error. However, my constituent was unable to get a hold of CRA due to the high call volume.

My other constituent who received the same COV-26 error upon applying for CRB contacted CRA, and the CRA agent asked my constituent to obtain the letter of denial from Service Canada then fax it over to CRA. This is problematic for my constituent since they do not have a fax machine, and that this technology is no longer commonplace.

In addition to the COV-26 errors, another one of my constituents have been experiencing issues with the new EI policies. He contacted our office because he was not receiving the new EI rate set at the minimum floor rate of $500/week as stated in the government website. My staff

contacted the Service Canada MP line and the agent confirmed that my constituent’s EI rates is based on the old EI policies, and that the constituent needs to call Service Canada to terminate his old EI claim and re-apply in order to receive the new benefits. My constituent attempted to follow the instructions that the Service Canada agent provided. However, upon getting through to the Service Canada phone line after a five hour wait, the operator told my constituent that he was misinformed, and that he would not be eligible for the new EI with the adjusted rates if he were to terminate his current EI claim. However, the agent did not offer any alternative as to how this could be rectified. I hope you will agree that this contradicting information that Service Canada is providing my staff and my constituents is unacceptable. In addition, such technical problems is resulting in a delay for my constituents to get their application processed so they could receive the recovery benefits that they desperately need.

With the information provided above, I ask that these contradicting and confusing messages from CRA and Service Canada be addressed immediately.

Thank you in advance for your attention on this urgent matter, and I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,
jenny signature - jpg.jpg
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East"

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She told The Hill Times that she wonders if a judge would have the patience to grant the federal government a fifth extension on a court order requiring action before the current November deadline.

“This is astounding. What the current situation is right now is that Canada’s Citizenship Act, with respect to lost Canadians, is in violation of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms], and [Bill C-3] will make it Charter-compliant,” said Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.).

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When June “Juna” Miller filed her taxes in spring, she expected a refund, but instead, she was declared legally dead.

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“The woman on the phone said, ‘Well, you’re deceased.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? You’re speaking to me!'” Miller explained.

What followed was a month-long ordeal that cost her her pension, Social Insurance Number, and sense of stability.

“It took them five seconds to say I was dead… without even asking for a death certificate,” she said. “Now I’m being told it could take six months to prove I’m alive. That makes no sense to me.”

But with her account frozen and no payments coming in, she was suddenly without any source of income.

Her Social Insurance Number had been cancelled, making it impossible to access her bank account or even apply for temporary work to stay afloat.

Even Service Canada wasn’t much help, Miller claimed.

She recalls one interaction with an agent who questioned why she kept insisting she was alive, while another refused to proceed because her name didn’t match across various documents.

When Miller attempted to order a copy of her marriage certificate to fulfill the requirement, her request was denied because her ID had already been flagged as invalid.

Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan stepped in as well, formally raising Miller’s case with the federal government.

Miller provided Daily Hive a copy of the letter dated June 30, in which Kwan wrote directly to Minister François-Philippe Champagne, asking that CRA fix the mistake immediately, restore her pension, and ensure all missed payments were sent without delay.

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On June 30, Miller received the call she’d been waiting for.

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The court has given the government yet another extension, and it would be incumbent on this Parliament to make sure that legislation is passed, Kwan said.

The previous lost Canadians citizenship bill died on the order paper when the House prorogued earlier this year. The Senate was engaged in an early study of the legislation to help it become law quickly.

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