A total 880 Canada Revenue Agency employees fraudulently claimed pandemic relief cheques, the highest figure disclosed to date, Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said yesterday. It followed claims by an Agency executive that “not very many” employees were cheats.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for fraud,” Bibeau testified at the Senate national finance committee. “This zero tolerance applies to employees suspected of improper conduct. In June we launched an investigation into employees who committed acts of fraud,” she said.