Commonwealth_ The Canada Revenue Agency is to come up with a 100-day action plan to address what the federal government has labeled unacceptable service levels for Canadians. The mandate was outlined in a letter by Finance and National Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne to the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
In the letter, the minister noted that Canadians are owed effective, on-time, and trustworthy service by the CRA, but the current situation is below their expectation. Quoting that despite the commitment of the agency’s employees, delays in services and issues with access—particularly through call centers—have been bringing more frustration among the people, the letter noted that these problems are not compliant with the Canadian standards the people can reasonably expect from a national revenue agency.
The action plan, which was described as urgent by the minister, will be focused on ramping up services, streamlining access to them, and reducing delays. It comes on the heels of a series of reports, including one by a federal watchdog last June, that have cited repeated problems with how the CRA delivers information. In that report, even when callers were actually able to speak with an agent, the information they were given tended to be incomplete, inaccurate, or vague. The same report criticized the CRA website for its duplicate or confusing content, which prevents taxpayers from receiving definitive answers to their queries.
Staff cuts have also exacerbated the CRA’s problems. The agency has seen mass layoffs in the past year, shedding thousands of jobs. At that time, the CRA expressed its belief in the potential impact on internal services and cautioned about the possibility of complete service cuts. These staff cuts would appear to have compounded the pressure on the agency’s ability to manage Canadians’ needs, particularly during busy tax times.
To confront these rising challenges, the minister and his team have shifted to develop a better understanding of the problems through visits to CRA call centers as well as engagement with senior management. These consultations shed light on the service gaps and guided the proposed actions for a 100-day plan. Among the measures the CRA should undertake are hiring and redeploying personnel, testing out a new call-scheduling technology, and expanding more online services. The goal is to be closer to Canadians, make better information available, and provide faster service.
The letter also indicated that the CRA won’t be acting alone in implementing these changes. The board of management for the agency will be actively involved in overseeing the process, but reliance will be placed on working with private sector organizations and unions to support the changes. The collaborative process is intended to have solutions become viable and sustainable and to restore public confidence in the capacity of the agency to serve Canadians well.
The CRA’s operating budget changes are still unknown, even with the 100-day plan. Global News reached out to the minister’s office to ask whether the measures outlined would be more expensive and whether such a change would be part of the federal government’s fall budget. No response had been received at press time.
The CRA plays a vital role in the Canadian fiscal system through tax collection, provision of benefits, and federal revenue tax compliance. Any inefficiency or unavailability within the organization has significant consequences, primarily not just for taxpayers but also for the operation of government programs receiving tax revenue. It is for this reason that the government has insisted on the need to resort to immediate corrective action in addressing issues of service delivery.
The coming months are the make-or-break for the CRA as it endeavors to implement its 100-day plan. Whether or not the initiatives are effective will likely not be solely gauged by improvements in call center and online materials but also by the extent to which the agency can try to re-establish Canadians’ trust in those who rely on its services.
