Background
Meghan Dailey, a disabled person receiving Ontario Disability Support Program benefits, earned supplemental self-employment income from childcare and pet sitting services. Between March 2020 and October 2021, she applied for and received Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments for seven periods and Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) payments for twenty-six periods. In 2023, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) sought to validate her eligibility by requiring documentation proving at least $5,000 in self-employment income for 2019 or the 12 months preceding each application.
Dailey submitted invoices totaling $4,200 for 2019, though her initially reported net self-employment income was only $359 (later reassessed to $5,120). The CRA initially denied her eligibility in October 2023. After settling a judicial review of the CRA’s refusal to conduct a timely second review, Dailey underwent a second review. On November 28, 2025, the Decision Maker again found her ineligible, prompting this judicial review application.
The Court’s Holding
Justice Duchesne dismissed Dailey’s application for judicial review, upholding the CRA’s decision as reasonable. The court held that applicants for emergency benefits bear the burden of proving they meet statutory eligibility requirements through corroborating documentation. While tax returns show reported income, they do not conclusively prove income was actually earned because Canadian tax returns rely on self-reporting. The CRA is therefore entitled to request verifying documentation, such as bank statements showing actual receipt of payment, invoices, and business records.
The court found it reasonable for the Decision Maker to require proof that Dailey had actually received the amounts invoiced. Although Dailey submitted invoices and later provided a self-prepared Excel sheet, she did not provide bank statements despite admitting income was received in cash. The court held that mere accounting entries, invoices, and statements about cash payments are insufficient—proof of actual payment by customers and receipt by the self-employed person is necessary. Since Dailey failed to provide the requested documentation by the November 7, 2025 deadline, the Decision Maker properly concluded she had not established eligibility.
Key Takeaways
- Self-employed CERB/CRB applicants must prove actual receipt of income through corroborating documentation, not merely self-reported tax figures.
- Bank statements or deposit records are essential for verifying cash-based income; invoices alone are insufficient without proof of payment received.
- Applicants bear the burden of providing requested documentation within specified timeframes; failure to comply supports an adverse eligibility determination.
- Administrative decision makers may reasonably seek multiple forms of documentary evidence to verify income claims before approving emergency benefit payments.
Why It Matters
This decision establishes clear evidentiary standards for self-employment income verification in CERB and CRB claims. It signals that while the emergency benefit programs were designed to help workers affected by COVID-19, applicants must still meet statutory eligibility requirements through reliable documentation. The ruling reinforces that the CRA may demand substantiation beyond tax returns and that applicants who claim cash income must provide bank records or similar proof of actual receipt.
The decision also addresses the tension between facilitating access to emergency relief and protecting program integrity. By requiring verifiable proof of income receipt, courts have signaled that CRA agents act reasonably when they decline to accept self-serving documentation alone. This precedent will influence how similar benefit verification disputes are resolved and may affect other applicants seeking to challenge CRA eligibility determinations based on insufficient documentation.