On February 1, 2021, a proposed class action proceeding was filed in the Federal Court (Ryan vs. Attorney General of Canada, T-195-21).
The motion seeks a determination of the meaning of self-employed income for purposes of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and declaration that pensioners* who applied on the basis that it encompassed gross income would be entitled to the benefit.
The motion also alleges that the government changed the definition of income part way through the program.
* Although the motion identifies the affected group of taxpayers as “pensioners” with smaller amounts of self-employment income, it is possible that the findings and impact will also affect those who are not earning pensions.
Links
While still under construction, it appears that the related class action page is: https://www.cerbclassaction.com/