Canada seeks to claw back $25M in COVID relief from thousands of fishers

Canada seeks to claw back $25M in COVID relief from thousands of fishers

Source: CBC News

11/14/2021

The federal government is demanding 4,193 Canadian fishers repay $25.8 million in COVID-19 relief assistance paid out in 2020 under the Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant Program, CBC News has learned.

More than half the harvesters issued overpayment letters are in Nova Scotia, where 2,382 have received notices totalling $13.8 million, according to data released to CBC News by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

DFO said many harvesters were ineligible because they were regular wage-earning employees rather than self-employed sharepersons, as required under program rules.

"Canada Revenue Agency data appears to indicate that a significant number of applicants have filed incorrect tax information with respect to the nature of their income," DFO spokesperson Barre Campbell told CBC News.

Travis Nickerson of Clarks Harbour, N.S., received an overpayment letter.

"It's a mess," said Nickerson, a lobster boat crewman. "They gave me something when I really needed it, and now they want it back."

Nickerson is paid a share of the catch and saw his income drop in the first half of 2020 when COVID-19 crashed demand for lobster worldwide.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
3851	Anti-carp speakers pose no threat to native species	lacrosse tribune	2014-08-05	US
3852	Anti-carp effort starts on Mississippi River	The Assocaited Press	2014-08-02	US
3853	Brazil bans catfish fishery that used dolphins as bait	newscientist	2014-07-30	BZ
3854	Woman hauls in 'world record' 143kg tuna off Sydney...	dailymail	2014-07-24	UK
3855	Biggest UK fish ever caught off Isle of Skye	scotsman	2014-07-23	UK
3856	Snakehead fish still a problem in Maryland waters	wbaltv	2021-05-18	US
3857	Deadly 'ghost' fishing gear removed from shipwreck off Brighton coast	the argus	2021-05-21	UK
3858	Kid brother snitches to game wardens about illegal fish, and other Texas game warden stories	chron	2021-05-24	US
3859	Despite huge salmon forecasts, terrible 2009 return haunts B.C.	CTV News	2014-06-29	CA
3860	GW Fins chef Tenney Flynn and others take aim at an invasive species	nola	2014-07-24	US
3861	Manitoba fishery earns rare status in Western Hemisphere	CBC News	2014-07-24	CA
3862	Can Drones Fight Illegal "Pirate" Fishing?	National Geographic	2014-07-18	BZ
3863	Atlantic Salmon Show Capacity To Adapt To Warmer Waters	Underwatertimes	2014-07-17	CA
3864	Fisherman Describes Reeling In 482-Pound Halibut	east idaho news	2014-07-14	US
3865	Smiling with the fishes! Cheeky parrotfish photobombs diver's snap	express	2014-07-07	US
3866	Record-Breaking Red Snapper Caught Off the Coast of Texas	abc news	2014-07-01	US
3867	Fish Can Remember For Up To 12 Days	underwatertimes	2014-07-01	CA
3868	New 'Swiss Army knife' cleans up water pollution	eurekalert	2021-05-31	US
3869	Cornell researchers net largest fish ever recorded in Oneida Lake	wktv	2021-05-21	US
3870	Massive bass fish caught off Hicks Bay, East Cape	nzherald	2021-05-21	NZ
3871	‘Like Some Sea Creature From The Deep’: Vampire Fish Making Comeback To American River	baltimore	2021-05-20	US
3872	Salmon Migrate By Truck During California Drought	sacramento	2014-06-15	US
3873	Cod Bones Reveal 13th Century Origin Of Global Fish Trade	underwatertimes	2014-05-27	UK
3874	Fishermen spend TWO HOURS reeling in 'once in a lifetime' 500-pound sawfish in Florida	dailymail	2014-05-26	UK
3875	Rare, mysterious deep sea fish washes ashore along NC coast	myfox8	2016-05-16	US

154 of [218 - pages.]