Summary of Issue: Interest

Decision 69190 Full Text of Decision 69190

The Board erred in law. Firstly, it had no jurisdiction over the issue of the charge of interest in this matter. Secondly, the fact that the claim which led to the overpayment in this matter was established prior to 1998 or 2002 has no relevance to the application of the relevant legislative provisions pursuant to which the interest has accumulated.

Decision 68353 Full Text of Decision 68353

Since the EI benefits in question were obtained as a result of false or misleading statements, the debt cannot be written off as per section 178(e) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Interest is charged on EI debts resulting from false statements (the overpayment and the penalty). Interest charges cannot be appealed because they are imposed under the EI Regulations. Only the decision regarding the origin of the debt can be appealed. Interest is charged indefinitely on overpayments resulting from false statements and/or penalties until they are completely paid or until it is found that no false statement was made. In this case, the penalties were written off, but given the fact that the overpayment results from false statements, the interest on the overpayment stands.