If you have a beef with the taxman or were just looking for some basic information on programs or your personal account, more often than not you waited too long to get that information from the Canada Revenue Agency. And on many occasions, the information provided was incorrect.
Auditor General Karen Hogan delivered a scathing report on the CRA yesterday, telling the agency that the personnel in the call centres receive inadequate training.
The contact centres provided accurate responses to questions about individuals’ taxes only 17 per cent of the time between February and May 2025.
The report said the CRA seems more concerned with adhering to schedules for shifts and breaks than with the accuracy and completeness of information they provided to callers.
AG Karen Hogan says Canadians expect better.
“When a call was about something specific related to your account – ‘when will my tax return be assessed? When can I expect to receive a GST return?’ You were getting accurate responses,” said Hogan. “But it was when you called to ask general questions – ‘a member of my family passed away in December. When should I file their tax return?’ That kind of information was inaccurate. And in a system where Canadians have to voluntarily fill out their tax returns, I think they should expect to reach CRA and get accurate information when they talk to an agent.”
Wayne Loong (CPAC)
The parliamentary secretary for the minister, MP Wayne Long, says they are on the right track and have instituted a 100-day plan to improve the system.
He says there are 48 days left in that plan and they have made progress in making improvements.
