Alberta couple defends COVID-benefit eligibility after CRA seeks about $33,000 in repayments

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published January 18, 2026

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An Alberta couple says it is fighting a Canada Revenue Agency demand to repay roughly $33,000 in COVID-19 supports, insisting they applied only after confirming eligibility through a federal questionnaire and the agency’s own application tools, and that their claims were initially cleared before the CRA later reversed course.

Daria Skibington-Roffel said her work hours were reduced during the pandemic and she signed up for payments after the federal questionnaire indicated she qualified. She later noticed her tax refund was withheld, then says she was told she did not qualify for CERB because of income and hours worked, with a $14,000 bill that later grew to about $50,000 after further benefit reviews.

She said the balance has since dropped by more than $10,000 as the CRA withheld multiple years of refunds and rebates, including caregiver-related amounts. Skibington-Roffel said she has filed two unsuccessful appeals and continues to dispute the debt because she believes the CRA’s own forms showed she was eligible.

The couple says they took out loans to cover bills and property taxes and nearly lost their home twice. Skibington-Roffel works part-time due to chronic health issues and is the official caregiver for her husband Ron Roffel, who is retired and disabled. She said she earns just over $30,000 a year.

The CRA has said it is working to recover more than $10 billion in COVID-19 benefits, citing overpayments and cases where recipients were found ineligible. Agency spokesperson Nina Ioussoupova said the CRA may offset refunds and future credits, garnish wages or other income, or take legal action if debts remain unpaid without an acceptable payment arrangement.

Ioussoupova said that as of Nov. 30 the CRA had disbursed $83.5 billion in COVID benefits, including $45.3 billion for CERB, and that close to 1.4 million people have repaid about $3.3 billion in individual COVID-benefit debts.