The Prime Minister says a new draft bill aimed at cracking down on emergency benefit fraud will not target people making 'honest mistakes.'
During his daily address today, Justin Trudeau said anyone who mistakenly received both the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and the wage subsidy will simply have to pay back the one they shouldn't have been taking.
"We're not looking at punishing people who made honest mistakes, obviously. This is a time for us to pull together as a country."
He says the bill will punish those who wilfully and deliberately defrauded the system.
A draft version of the bill shows new enforcement mechanisms for those who make false or misleading claims, and would deter people from turning down work to continue receiving the CERB.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized the draft bill, saying putting people in jail and handing out fines is the wrong approach.
"That is going to put more vulnerable people at risk. That's exactly what we should not be doing - putting desperate people at risk for criminal charges and incarceration. This is wholly irresponsible, it's wrongheaded, it is the exact opposite of what needs to happen."