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CERB: What is your experience with COVID-19 benefit? – CTV News

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When the federal government granted billions of dollars in COVID-19 financial aid during the pandemic’s early days, many Canadians who received them weren’t supposed to be eligible.

A 2022 auditor’s report found that $4.6 billion was paid to people who shouldn’t have qualified. Now, the government is trying to get that money back, and many say they can’t afford to pay it.

One of those people is Terrance Bailey.

After receiving $38,600 in the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) from April 2020 to October 2021, the Toronto resident found out that he must pay back the full amount, because the Canada Revenue Agency says he didn’t qualify for the benefits he received.

He told CTV News Toronto that he fears he may have to declare bankruptcy.

“I’m on an old age pension and a Canada pension. I make $2,000 a month, and how am I supposed to pay back $38,000 and pay my groceries and my rent?” said Bailey, who worked as an auto consultant when the pandemic shut down car dealerships nationwide.

The program was launched in a hurry, granting Canadians whose jobs were directly affected by COVID-19 $2,000 a month. 

“Given the unprecedented financial impact of the pandemic, that money needed to be delivered extremely quickly to millions of Canadians,” the Canada Revenue Agency said in a statement to CTV News.

The Canada Revenue Agency said the government had clearly stated that “ineligible individuals would later have to repay amounts they had received.”

But there was some confusion over who was eligible, and some are now in a situation they didn’t expect. CTVNews.ca is looking to speak to those people.

What has your experience been with CERB?

How much do you owe? Did you expect to have to pay that much back, and are you able to pay it back?

What do you think of the program? What do you wish you’d known? Are you worried about what you owe?

What steps have you taken or will you take if you’ve been asked to repay CERB?

Share your story by emailing us at dotcom@bellmedia.ca with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.

With files from CTV News Toronto Consumer Alert Videojournalist Pat Foran

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First presumptive human case of avian flu acquired in Canada detected in teen

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British Columbia’s Ministry of Health says the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada has been detected in B.C.

A statement from the office of the provincial health officer says a teenager in the region covered by Fraser Health tested positive for bird flu, and the teen is currently getting treatment at BC Children’s Hospital.

The statement says the positive test was done by the BC Centre for Disease Control, and samples are on their way to Winnipeg’s national microbiology lab for confirmatory testing.

It says public health officials are also looking into the case to find the source of exposure and identify any contacts.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says it is “a rare event” and only a handful of cases of bird flu, caused by the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus, have been detected in humans in the U.S. and abroad.

The statement says the source of the teen’s exposure to the virus is very likely to be from an animal or bird, while public health officials and the province’s chief veterinarian investigate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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First presumptive human case of avian flu acquired in Canada detected in teen

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British Columbia’s Ministry of Health says the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada has been detected in B.C.

A statement from the office of the provincial health officer says a teenager in the region covered by Fraser Health tested positive for bird flu, and the teen is currently getting treatment at BC Children’s Hospital.

The statement says the positive test was done by the BC Centre for Disease Control, and samples are on their way to Winnipeg’s national microbiology lab for confirmatory testing.

It says public health officials are also looking into the case to find the source of exposure and identify any contacts.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says it is “a rare event” and only a handful of cases of bird flu, caused by the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus, have been detected in humans in the U.S. and abroad.

The statement says the source of the teen’s exposure to the virus is very likely to be from an animal or bird, while public health officials and the province’s chief veterinarian investigate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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NASA astronauts won’t say which one of them got sick after almost 8 months in space

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick.

Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their spaceflight for the first time since returning from the International Space Station on Oct. 25. They spent nearly eight months in orbit, longer than expected because of all the trouble with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule and rough weather, including Hurricane Milton.

Soon after their SpaceX capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, the three were taken to a hospital in nearby Pensacola along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who launched with them back in March.

One of the Americans ended up spending the night there for an undisclosed “medical issue.” NASA declined to say who was hospitalized or why, citing medical privacy.

When asked at Friday’s news conference which one had been sick, the astronauts refused to comment. Barratt, a doctor who specializes in space medicine, declined to even describe the symptoms that the unidentified astronaut had.

“Spaceflight is still something we don’t fully understand. We’re finding things that we don’t expect sometimes. This was one of those times and we’re still piecing things together on this,” said Barratt, the only member of the crew who had flown in space before.

Epps said everyone is different in how they respond to space — and gravity.

“That’s the part that you can’t predict,” she said, adding, “Every day is better than the day before.”

Dominick said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took several days to get used to once he returned. He said he didn’t use the treadmill at all during his time in space, as part of an experiment to see what equipment might be pared on a long trip to Mars. The first time he walked was when he got out of the capsule.

The two astronauts who served as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — will remain at the space station until February, flying back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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