Trudeau government tells temporary residents that no proof of work permit is required for CERB

New measures have been taken by the federal government to make receiving emergency benefits easier for international students as well as other temporary foreign residents, according to the National Post.

Short-term immigrants just have to give their word that they possess a valid work permit or have sent in an application for a new one to receive the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), as stated by a memo sent to staff looking over the claims this week.

Before last Thursday, an image of a work/study permit or conformation of an application for renewal had to be emailed to Employment and Social Development Canada.

But a memo that went out to officials at Employment and Social Development Canada in charge of CERB applications noted that the requirement was waived “effective immediately” and agents are “only required to verbally obtain work permit details.”

The instruction applies to people who claim to have met the other requirements for the program and possess a “900-series” social insurance number.

According to a source who is familiar with the system, people that have valid permits would usually be able to email proof in just a few minutes and hardly slow down the process at all. The source said that staff now have no way to verify whether or not someone is in Canada legally.

If the applicant is given the monthly payments of $2,000 inappropriately and later leaves the country—the money would be almost impossible to recover, says the source.

Differing opinions were offered by outside experts with some calling the policy an “excellent” one and others calling it “astonishing” disregard for taxpayer money.

Maya Dura, the spokesperson for Ahmed Hussen, said claimants, “may be asked to provide additional documentation to verify their eligibility at a future date.”

“The Government of Canada will, whether it be in the upcoming weeks or at tax time next year, reconcile accounts and make sure people did not defraud the CERB,” Dura added.

Dura said that there had been 39,319 CERB applications submitted by international students by May 18, with 30,645 having already received payments.

The CERB program provides $500 per week to those who “have stopped working” due to coronavirus, as long as they’ve made $5,000 in the last year without quitting their job voluntarily.

However, the program has recently been under scrutiny due to the way it is being managed. The National Post claims to have obtained memos directing applicants to be approved by staff even if there was evidence of possible abuse or they had been fired for misconduct or quit their job voluntarily.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that fraudulent or unwarranted payments will be dealt with at a later time.

Last week’s memo says that to be eligible for benefits, temporary residents that have a 900-series SIN “must prove they are legally allowed to work in Canada.”

But “due to COVID-19 the 900-series SIN procedures have been simplified.”

As of May 21, $39 billion has been paid out to over eight million claimants by the Canadian government.