The provincial NDP is calling for an end to income support clawbacks for those who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit – or CERB.
NDP Leader Alison Coffin says thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians applied for CERB because they needed income to get through the pandemic. Now those on income support are struggling because CERB payments are being clawed back.
The federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit was created to help those who lost income due to layoffs or lockdown measures put in place to address the first wave of the pandemic.
Coffin says to penalize those on income support is wrong.
Her office has heard from “many people” who had to wait to get back on income assistance after the CERB ended leaving many people wondering how they would survive a two-month waiting period with no income.
Dinn says having to pay back the CERB impacts the most vulnerable members of society.@VOCMNEWS #nlpoli pic.twitter.com/TeajmLuQyj
— Gerri Lynn Mackey (@GerriLynnMackey) February 1, 2021
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party reiterates that the CERB was a federal program installed to replace lost employment due to the pandemic.
In a statement, the party says some income support clients were able to avail of CERB. When it ended, they were transferred back to the income support program as needed.
