Original report submitted to the Minister of National Revenue November 2022.

Numbers Speak Volumes: CRA’s response to the recommendations made in the 2021-2022 Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson’s Annual Report.

Recommendation #1

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson recommends to the Minister and to the Chair of the Board of Management that the CRA look for ways in which a taxpayer can receive a security code the same day it is requested, allowing Canadians to have full access to their CRA Account in a timely manner.

CRA’s response

The CRA agrees with this recommendation.

The CRA recognizes the need for taxpayers to have timely access to their online account while ensuring the highest level of security and protection of confidential taxpayer information.

The CRA is implementing a new Digital Identity Validation (DIV) solution as an enhancement to the current registration process for CRA’s online services. This enhancement will enable taxpayers to validate their identify through a secure, online service and have immediate access to their personal and/or business information online.

The CRA will continue to identify opportunities to make it easier and faster for taxpayers to get secure access to their online account.

2024 Update

The CRA launched a document verification service, in April 2024, which provides a secure method for Canadians to validate their identity in real-time allowing full and immediate access to the CRA sign-in services, without needing a CRA security code.

Recommendation #2

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson recommends to the Minister and to the Chair of the Board of Management the CRA find a way to provide in- person same-day identity verification of a taxpayer. For example, through a trusted third party.

CRA’s response

The CRA agrees with this recommendation.

The CRA has established new partnerships and is developing new processes for taxpayers to be able to gain same-day access to their online account.

In support of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), the CRA has established partnerships with the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta to be able to leverage their provincial digital ID’s. This allows for citizens to use their provincial credentials to gain same-day access to CRA’s online services. As provinces are the issuers of foundational documents (e.g., birth certificates, health cards, drivers’ licenses, etc.) with in-person services, they are well placed to identity proof individuals. The CRA is currently working with the Province of Quebec to explore the potential to offer a similar solution to residents of Quebec. As additional provinces and Territories establish digital identity programs, the CRA will explore partnerships with them.

On September 24th, 2022, the CRA and ESDC re-enabled the link between My Account and My Service Canada Account. This link allows users of one secure portal to get the other without having to re-login or revalidate their identity.

A new Digital Identity Validation (DIV) solution is also being introduced to make it faster for taxpayers to access their CRA account online. Taxpayers will be able to use a digital service to validate their identity and have secure and immediate access to their personal and business information online.

2024 Update

The CRA has established new partnerships and is developing new processes for taxpayers to gain immediate access to the CRA’s sign in services.

In support of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), the CRA has established partnerships with the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta to allow taxpayers leverage their provincial digital ID’s to gain immediate access to the CRA’s sign in services. As provinces are the issuers of foundational documents (e.g., birth certificates, health cards, drivers’ licenses, etc.) with in-person services, they are well placed to identity proof individuals.

The Canadian Digital Service (CDS) has completed the Pan Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) assessment of the Quebec Digital ID for the GC Sign-in service. The CRA is evaluating the options available to integrate with Quebec, either directly or indirectly. Once a direction for integration is chosen, we will have a better estimated timeframe for delivery and completion.

This action plan item is ongoing.

Recommendation #3

The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson recommends to the Minister and to the Chair of the Board of Management the CRA make it clear to Canadians that when it is administering a benefit that increases an individuals income that it sufficiently informs applicants that the increase could affect their other income based benefits.

CRA’s response

The CRA agrees with this recommendation.

The CRA understands the importance of effectively communicating the interaction between COVID-19 benefits and provincial or territorial social assistance program. The CRA accepts this recommendation, and will modify existing communications to ensure language is clear and consistent with that which is used elsewhere by the Agency. We will also ensure to take this into account for future communications.

Concrete steps:

• The Public Affairs Branch has updated its communications strategy template to include a consideration about benefit interactions and the importance of clear language when communicating interactions to Canadians. This update will help ensure that benefit interactions are taken into account in the planning phase of any future strategies related to COVID-19 measures, and are incorporated into related external-facing products.
• Additionally, the CRA consulted ESDC (the relevant legislative entity) to update the CRA’s landing page for COVID-19 Benefits in accordance with OTO’s Recommendation 3 (see screenshot below), which will help ensure users are aware of the interaction between the one-time GIS payment and COVID-19 payments. From October 10 to November 8, 2022 the alert was active, and the link in the ‘Most requested’ area will be there indefinitely. The link goes directly to ESDC’s page “One-time grant for Guaranteed Income Supplement recipients who received pandemic benefits”.

2024 Update

Beginning in 2020, COVID-19 benefits had a unique impact on income reporting unlike other existing federal benefits and credits.

When this issue was identified, the CRA took action to ensure the impact was communicated clearly within CRA resources.

Now that emergency benefits have been closed, the Agency does not have any other benefits that impact income reporting. In the event that the CRA were to develop or issue a benefit with a similar impact on income reporting, the Agency would develop and incorporate key messages into communications products to ensure audiences were made aware that the benefit could be considered a part of their reportable income.

Please note: While the CRA would communicate the impact of federal benefits on reportable income, it cannot do so on behalf of provinces and territories who are responsible for establishing reportable income parameters in their jurisdictions.