Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) - February 25, 2026 – Minister binder

Source URL

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/transparency-proactive-disclosure-canada-revenue-agency/disclosure-briefing-binders-parliamentary-appearances/standing-committee-public-accounts-february-2026.html

Disclaimer

We do not guarantee the accuracy of this copy of the CRA website.

Scraped Page Content

Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) - February 25, 2026 – Minister binder

On this page

Minister’s Opening Remarks

Mr. Chair, thank you for this invitation. I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before the committee today.

On September 2, Secretary of State Wayne Long and I directed the Canada Revenue Agency, or the Agency, to immediately implement a 100 day Service Improvement Plan designed to strengthen services, improve access, and reduce delays in its contact centres.

From the outset, it is important to highlight that this 100 day Plan, carried out from September 2 to December 11, 2025, has delivered tangible results.

The Agency mobilized with exceptional rigour and demonstrated remarkable innovation, collaboration, and speed of execution.

First, the Agency doubled its capacity to answer calls. To achieve this, it increased the number of contact centre service representatives from 1,500 to 2,750. It exceeded its target by raising the response rate for unique callers from 35% at the beginning of July to more than 70% at the beginning of September.

At the same time, the Agency accelerated the processing of backlogged files, notably through the robotic automation of its operational processes and the strategic redeployment of its teams.

This will make it possible to automatically process up to 115,000 additional simple tax adjustment requests per year, most of which relate to Disability Tax Credit adjustments.

One of the most significant components of the 100-day Plan is the accelerated rollout of digital services. These provide taxpayers with a range of modern, secure, and accessible tools that promote self-service and free up phone lines for complex cases requiring human expertise.

With more than 32 million calls per year—an average of 300,000 each day during tax season—the demand for Agency services is immense.

Knowing when to call and when to use online tools is therefore essential to improving everyone’s experience.

Among these new digital options, the Agency now offers Canadians a redesigned phone menu that automatically routes calls to the appropriate experts. For example, the system now redirects payment-related questions directly to collections agents, potentially reducing contact centre call volumes by about 95,000 per year.

I should also mention the new Manage Balance service. Taxpayers with debts of 1,000 dollars or more now have simplified options to pay in full, arrange payment schedules, contact a collections officer, or request a callback through secure, user-friendly, digital service options that encourage timely debt resolution.

Since its launch, 362 million dollars in payments in full or payment arrangements are attributed to the Manage Balance service. Over two million taxpayers with debt over 1,000 dollars was presented to the service.

The priority callback services, including the “Click-to-Talk” feature, have supported nearly 80,000 Canadians since their expansion under the 100-day Plan.

The Document Verification Service speeds up account registration by using AI—such as facial recognition—along with strong security measures. This innovation is expected to significantly reduce the hundreds of thousands of annual calls related to account lockouts.

To further reinforce these efforts, a new self-service credential recovery feature now allows users who have forgotten their sign-in information to regain access to their accounts independently.

Business registration to obtain a new business number and open a range of programs—such as GST/HST and payroll deductions—is now done exclusively online. On its own, this service for businesses could eliminate up to 200,000 simple calls per year, allowing service representatives to provide faster assistance to individuals with more complex inquiries.

The expansion of the GenAI chatbot beta is also an important progress. The chatbot now provides answers drawn from more than 14,000 web pages—more than double its previous scope. The accuracy of AI generated answers is also now tested in accordance with the methodology outlined in the most recent report of the Auditor General of Canada.

In this regard, I would underscore the importance the Agency places on the accuracy of the answers provided to taxpayers. According to the National Quality Monitoring Program—which analyzes more than 100,000 calls annually—over 90% of the answers are accurate and professional.

To maintain and further strengthen this performance, the Agency has intensified its coaching and reinforced its quality assurance framework.

And finally, I also want to acknowledge the teams working diligently to accelerate the implementation of the new state-of-the-art telephone system, now scheduled for delivery in summer 2026.

Together with IBM and Bell Canada, Agency experts are ensuring this cloud-based technology introduces new features specific to the Canadian fiscal context—including AI capabilities—to enhance service quality.

The way the Agency met the challenges of the 100 day Plan underscores an essential truth: powered by a technologically enabled workforce, the Agency is a world class tax and benefit administration. It remains committed to keeping Canada’s tax services strong, modern, and responsive to the evolving needs of Canadians.

Secretary of State Long and I are confident that the Agency will sustain this momentum, guided by a clear vision focused on continually enhancing service performance to deliver ever more effective services to Canadians.

The improvements I have outlined represent only a portion of the measures the Agency implemented under the 100 day Plan. Since then, many additional initiatives have been deployed, including those aimed at preparing for the current tax filing season, which has only just begun.

I would be pleased to answer your questions.

Thank you.

Issue notes

OAG Report-related

OAG Report (Overall)

ISSUE: Does the CRA agree with the OAG Report and its recommendations?

KEY POINTS:
  • The CRA accepts the findings of the OAG's audit and agrees with all the recommendations
  • The report highlights ongoing service challenges at the CRA's call centres and emphasizes the need for improvement
  • The CRA is actively working to address these issues
  • The 100-day Service Improvement Plan resulted in significant improvements, including:
    • better access to contact centre service representatives, improvements to self-serve options,
    • addressing the root causes of service issues,
    • and scaling up new technologies
  • Beyond the 100-day plan, the CRA will continue to strive to deliver the level of service Canadians expect and deserve, especially as the upcoming tax filing season approaches

OAG Report (Performance assessment)

ISSUE: Is the CRA placing too much focus on scheduling and breaks, instead of accuracy, in evaluating its contact centre service representatives?

KEY POINTS:
  • The CRA agrees with the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) recommendation to place greater emphasis on the completeness and accuracy of responses provided by contact centre service representatives when evaluating their performance
  • As such, between November 2025 and September 2026, the CRA is reviewing and implementing changes to its quality evaluation criteria to ensure that completeness and accuracy of responses are prioritized
  • The CRA will also:
    • Update the quality evaluation process to better identify training and coaching needs for service representatives
    • Use automation, where possible, in the quality review process to enhance the efficiency and consistency of evaluations

OAG Report (Chatbot)

ISSUE: Is the CRA aware of its chatbot’s limitations? What are the CRA’s future plans for improving the chatbot?

KEY POINTS:
  • CRA is aware of the current limitations of the GenAI chatbot beta and is working to improve its performance and user experience
    • Scope of Responses:
      • The chatbot attempts to answer all questions, even those outside the CRA’s mandate. Since it only uses content from the CRA’s section of Canada.ca, this can sometimes lead to incomplete responses
    • Application of General Rules:
      • The chatbot may not always apply general rules, such as extending deadlines when they fall on weekends, to specific cases. The CRA implemented new prompting techniques in order to improve its accuracy in applying these rules
  • Recent Improvements:
    • As of November 7, 2025 the chatbot’s capabilities have been expanded to include topics for businesses and trusts, in addition to individuals and charities
    • The chatbot’s knowledge base now includes an additional 14,661 CRA-sourced pages, validated through extensive testing by CRA subject matter experts
    • The testing process for the topic expansion was updated based on findings from the OAG audit report
  • Future Plans (for fiscal year, 2026-27):
    • Improved interactivity:
      • CRA plans to make the GenAI chatbot more interactive by enabling it to ask users more contextual questions when user enquiries are vague. This will help the chatbot provide more accurate and personalized responses
    • Enhanced feedback collection:
      • CRA is reviewing its feedback and survey process to collect more detailed data on user activity. This will guide improvements in areas that are most important to users
    • Integration with live support:
      • CRA is working on integrating the chatbot with live online chat services. This will allow users to transition smoothly from automated responses to direct support from CRA service representatives when needed

OAG Report (Training)

ISSUE: Does the CRA provide enough training to its contact centre service representatives?

KEY POINTS:
  • The CRA ensures that contact centre service representatives across the country receive consistent training, which includes:
    • Learning CRA policies and procedures,
    • Developing client service skills,
    • Gradually building knowledge of more complex tax topics, and
    • Using regularly updated training materials
  • Training Process:
    • New service representatives complete classroom training lasting 2 to 13 weeks, depending on their role and skill level
    • During training, service representatives also listen to live calls handled by experienced colleagues to observe real interactions
    • After training, they start by handling simple enquiries with support, allowing them to build confidence and gradually take on more complex calls
  • Ongoing Support and Learning:
    • Even after completing training, service representatives can get help from senior colleagues during calls
    • Additional learning sessions and coaching are available to help service representatives review complex topics and continuously improve their skills

OAG Report (Improving Accuracy)

ISSUE: How is the CRA improving contact centre accuracy?

KEY POINTS:
  • The CRA agrees with the OAG recommendation to improve the accuracy and completeness of responses provided by contact centre service representatives
  • The CRA has structured quality assurance reviews and targeted training to continuously enhance service quality
  • This includes providing feedback and coaching for service representatives and up-to-date procedures to ensure responses are accurate, clear, and consistent
  • The CRA’s quality evaluation process helps identify knowledge gaps, which allows for targeted training, coaching, and learning opportunities for those who need additional support
  • As of this fiscal year, the CRA’s quality evaluators have completed over 100,000 quality reviews, achieving an accuracy rate of over 90%
  • Account-specific calls, which make up about 80% of total calls, have higher quality and accuracy rates compared to non-account-specific or general calls, which make up around 20%
  • The CRA is reviewing its overall evaluation framework to further improve call accuracy and completeness. This review will be completed by September 2026 and will align with the capabilities of the new telephone system

OAG Report (Contact Centre Contracts)

ISSUE: What is the CRA doing to improve accountability with regards to contact centre contracts?

KEY POINTS:
  • The CRA is supporting Shared Services Canada (SSC) in improving processes and clarifying roles and responsibilities to strengthen oversight and cost management of contracts with a revised agreement currently being finalized
  • Lessons learned from our current call system were applied during the procurement process for the new contract - Contact Centre as a Service Contract (CCaaS), such as:
    • identifying current challenges and desired outcomes during procurement, aiming for a future-ready cloud-based contact centre solution
    • the contract was issued by SSC to Bell Canada. SSC remains the contracting authority, while SSC and the CRA share responsibility for technical oversight
    • shifting from prescriptive requirements to outcome-based needs, emphasizing alignment with industry best practices and minimizing customization to deliver a modern, high-quality service

OAG Report (Shared Services Canada role)

ISSUE: What is Shared Services Canada (SSC) role in contracts for the CRA’s contact centres? What role does the CRA have in them?

KEY POINTS:
  • As per the Shared Services Canada Act, SSC is responsible for procuring goods and services related to the infrastructure and management of applications necessary for Government of Canada (GC) Contact Centre Services
  • The current SSC contract with IBM serves a wide range of GC clients, including the CRA, and will expire on October 29, 2027
  • Bell Canada contract
    • CRA worked closely with SSC on a new contract, awarded in July 2025 to Bell Canada, which is for the sole use of the CRA
    • The new Bell Canada contract:
      • addresses lessons learned from the IBM contract – for instance, bundling services for specific outcomes rather than issuing individual service orders, as is the case under the current IBM contract
      • is specifically tailored to meet the CRA's needs, accommodating various operational scales and complexities
      • provides the CRA with more detailed billing information, while simplifying the complexity of the invoicing, giving the CRA stronger oversight and improved visibility of contract costs

BACKGROUND:

  • Under the Shared Services Canada Act, SSC is responsible for procuring the government-wide contact centre infrastructure and related services. As such, the CRA does not have procurement authority in this domain
  • Since 2015, the CRA has relied on SSC’s contract with IBM for Hosted Call Centre Services (HCCS). This contract was designed as a government-wide solution and therefore lacked tailored services for the CRA’s specific needs
  • Recognizing the limitations of HCCS, the CRA worked closely with SSC to define requirements for a new solution
  • Following a competitive process, SSC awarded a contract to Bell Canada for a Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) system. Unlike the HCCS arrangement, which was designed as a government-wide solution, the CCaaS model delivers integrated, outcome-based services that can be scaled and customized to the CRA’s unique operations
  • To support sound stewardship, SSC and the CRA have implemented a formal governance framework with clear roles, responsibilities, and oversight processes. Under the new Bell contract, the CRA will benefit from detailed billing information, allowing for improved oversight of the contract costs

100-day Plan-related

Post 100-day Plan

ISSUE: What happens after the Plan? Is this a permanent fix?

KEY POINTS
  • The 100-day Plan was initiated on September 2, 2025, in response to significant service delays and pressures at CRA - and concluded on December 11, 2025
  • CRA has made substantial and measurable progress in reducing client wait times, enhancing service standards, and integrating innovative technologies into its processes—while also prioritizing user-friendly services for Canadians
  • We recognize that further efforts are required to provide consistently high-quality services to Canadians – not just in the short term, but in the months and years ahead
  • CRA has developed an expanded framework to guide its efforts beyond the Plan and into the 2025 tax filing season
  • CRA is dedicating efforts to build on the progress achieved by accelerating its continuous service improvement initiatives
  • This approach is also being integrated into the CRA’s Agency Service Action Plan (Redacted)
  • The Plan implemented over 70 targeted initiatives for ongoing and lasting improvement, such as:
    • modernizing services
    • enhancing digital services
    • facilitating self-service and reducing reliance on more traditional methods
    • further reducing wait times, and
    • addressing the evolving needs of Canadians
  • The CRA is further focused on delivering long-term, meaningful improvements for Canadians, including:
    • leveraging advanced AI and emerging technologies to enhance and streamline core services
    • adding new, intuitive features and tools to its digital services to empower Canadians to better manage their interactions through self-service options
    • accelerating the transformation of its contact centres by implementing a secure, cloud-based system used by leading organizations worldwide
  • In addition, the CRA is hiring 1,500 additional service representatives to enhance its support for Canadians during the upcoming tax filing season

100-day Plan (high-level overview)

ISSUE: What was the CRA’s 100-day Plan (‘the Plan’)?

KEY POINTS
  • We recognize that Canadians require more efficient and improved access to timely information and support from CRA
  • CRA’s 100-day Service Improvement Plan, which concluded on December 11, 2025, achieved significant results in enhancing service accessibility and operational efficiency
  • The primary objectives of the Plan included:
    • increasing capacity to respond to calls more effectively
    • expanding and improving digital self-service options
    • identifying and addressing the root causes of persistent service challenges
    • accelerating service delivery modernization
  • Key initiatives implemented during the Plan included:
    • Reassigning and optimizing resources to priority areas
    • Implementing new technologies and tools to answer incoming calls faster and more efficiently, such as:
      • a web-based callback service for Canadians facing challenges accessing their CRA accounts or Business Registration Online
      • experimenting with a callback service specifically for Disability Tax Credit inquiries, ensuring callbacks within two business days of a webform request
  • Enhancing digital services by:
    • Expanding the generative AI (GenAI) chatbot beta program to cover a broader range of topics, providing faster, more accurate responses to Canadians
    • Extending CRA Online chat support hours with service representatives to 8 am to 8 pm (Eastern time), offering more flexibility for Canadians
    • Introducing a new self-serve option for existing CRA account users to easily register for a new credential if they are locked out of their account or have forgotten their sign-in details
    • Launching the ‘Manage Balance Service’ within My Account, allowing taxpayers with outstanding tax debts of $1,000 or more to conveniently set up payment arrangements without needing to contact a service representative
    • Enhancing online TFSA information by updating web pages with clearer information on contribution limits, withdrawals, and resolving overcontributions, enabling Canadians to self-serve with confidence
    • Targeted measures to reduce processing times and call volumes in high-demand service areas, such as
      • Tax adjustments
      • Disability Tax Credit applications
      • Canada child benefit claims
  • Accelerating the deployment of a new, state-of-the art contact centre system to further improve service quality and efficiency
100-day Plan’s Specific Accomplishments
  • Actions taken as part of the 100-day service improvement plan include:
  • The number of unique calls answered more than doubled – from 35% to more than 70%.
  • Launching the ‘Manage Balance Service’, has enabled Canadians to use self-serve options to deal with amounts owing – with $312.1M in payments in full or payment arrangements attributed this service already (as of January 23, 2026)
  • Decreasing T1 (individual) adjustment request inventory by 31%, significantly reducing processing backlogs
  • Improving Disability Tax Credit processing times from 15 weeks to 9 weeks – a 40% improvement
  • Enhancing digital self-service options, including:
    • Adjusting online content to ensure information is clearer and more accessible
    • Expanding chatbot capabilities, which handled 277K sessions, reducing the need for direct assistance and enabling faster service delivery
  • Experimenting with callback services, including:
    • Click-to-Talk, which addressed 80.3K calls
    • Disability Tax Credit callback service, which completed 3.9K callbacks within two business days of being requested

Pillar 1: Increase Ability to Answer Calls

ISSUE: How will the CRA answer more calls?

KEY POINTS
  • CRA receives 25-32 million calls annually from around 16-17 million unique callers. Unfortunately, the high demand means many people call repeatedly
  • To address this issue, the CRA increased its capacity to answer calls by adding an additional 1,250 service representatives by October 3, 2025
  • This was achieved through targeted resource reallocation, contract extensions, and rehiring efforts
  • As a result, more callers are now able to speak with a service representative, and the number of unique callers answered more than doubled under the 100-day Service Improvement Plan, from 35% to more than 70%, with weekly peaks of 92%
  • This led to a 55% reduction in redial rates and a 43% increase in unique calls answered – and caller satisfaction improved by 1%, and call accuracy reached 92%
  • CRA also introduced the Click to Talk service, which answered 80.3K calls related to account access and business registration issues
  • Additionally, the Disability Tax Credit callback service responded to 3.9K inquiries within two business days, offering targeted support to Canadians

Pillar 2: Expanding Digital Self-service Options

ISSUE: How is the CRA expanding digital / self-service options?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA is enhancing its digital services through continuous improvements, including:
    • Enhancing the GenAI chatbot beta
    • Optimizing the CRA website
    • Adding more self-serve options within a CRA account, which includes My Account
  • The goal of these digital enhancements is to:
    • Allow Canadians to independently find answers to common tax and benefit questions
    • Reduce call volumes
    • Improve accessibility
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES:
  • GenAI chatbot beta
    • On November 7, 2025, the CRA expanded the GenAI chatbot beta’s capabilities to address a broader range of topics, handling 277K sessions during the 100-day period. In addition to personal income tax, CRA account access, and charities, the chatbot now also covers business tax obligations, payroll deductions, and GST/HST returns
    • On average, the chatbot processed 18.5K chats weekly, helping Canadians resolve issues independently
  • CRA account changes
    • As of October 2025, locked-out CRA account users can fix this issue themselves online, and get same-day access to their account. 51K clients regained access to their CRA account by registering for new sign-in credentials during the 100-day period, with 87% resolving their issues independently
    • This could divert approximately 300K calls annually from the CRA’s contact centres
    • This means shorter wait times for users with more complex issues
  • Extended CRA Online chat
    • As of September 29, 2025, the CRA extended the CRA Online chat with service representatives in My Account by three hours, now available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Eastern time)
  • Click-to-Talk
    • Taxpayers who are locked out of their CRA account are presented with an option for a prioritized connection through Click-to-Talk, to connect with a service representative for issue resolution. This complements the CRA account register again solution mentioned above
  • Manage Balance Service
    • On October 20, 2025, the CRA launched the ‘Manage Balance Service’ within My AccountThis service aims to divert calls about debts and payment arrangements from the contact centres
    • This allows taxpayers with tax debts of $1,000 or more to:
      • Independently set up payment arrangements, eliminating the need to speak with a collection agent/officer
      • Make full or partial payments
      • Connect with a collections officer
    • The service has been made available to over 1.1M users and facilitated the collection of over $312.1M (as of January 23, 2026) in in payments in full or payment arrangements
  • Skip the Line
    • The CRA launched the 'Skip the Line' campaign, attracting 136K unique visitors to its website and resulting in over 38K completed tasks, such as registering for CRA accounts and updating personal information
  • Improvements on Canada.ca
    • Eight content optimization projects improved task success rates on Canada.ca by 38%, including a 49% improvement for CRA account registration and a 60% improvement for NETFILE support
  • Digital notification nudges
    • Proactive measures, such as targeted 'nudge' campaigns, have encouraged digital filing and portal registrations, resulting in reduced reliance on contact centres
    • Call volumes have decreased by 23% year-over-year, reflecting the success of demand-shaping initiatives

Pillar 3: Addressing the Root Cause of Service Issues

ISSUE: How is the CRA addressing the root causes of high-call volume and other service issues?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA is working to resolve underlying factors that lead to delays:
    • More efficient use of resources
      • The CRA has launched targeted teams to improve processing times across programs where Canadians face service delays and temporarily reallocated resources to areas needing the most support, like the Canada child benefit applications, and tax adjustment requests
    • Better use of technology
      • The CRA is using new technology to better help Canadians
      • For example, the CRA has developed robotic process automations to streamline routine tasks and speed up application handling
      • The CRA implemented Robotic Process Automation to streamline processes, saving 4.6K operational hours by automating routine tasks such as benefits applications, GST/HST credit processing, and Disability Tax Credit claims
    • Analyzing and using experts
      • CRA is also looking closely at the reasons people call
      • CRA is working to understand ways to use technology and simpler processes to fix issues – with online and self-serve options – without the need to call
      • CRA is working with experts both internally and those outside government to find the best ways to solve these issues
      • CRA achieved significant reductions in backlogs during the 100-day period, including:
        • A 31% reduction in T1 adjustment request inventory
        • An 82% decrease in Canada Child Benefit application inventory outside service standards
        • An 81% reduction in Disability Tax Credit inventory, with processing times improved from 15 weeks to 9 weeks

Improving delivery for high-demand workloads (Pillar 3)

ISSUE: How is the CRA tackling areas of frequent, high-demand?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA is making things quicker by simplifying, modernizing, and targeting how work gets done in high-demand areas:
    • Simplifying
      • The CRA has set up special teams to find ways to decrease processing times
      • The focus is on high volume requests such as T1 tax return adjustments
    • Modernizing
      • The CRA is using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and automation in numerous processing areas, including Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and Canada child benefit applications
    • Targeting
      • To ensure quicker service for Canadians, the CRA temporarily moved 400 service representatives to accelerate processing times and resolve backlogged cases in high-demand areas – without affecting service levels elsewhere
      • On October 6, 2025, the CRA implemented a system enhancement for T1 Adjustments to automatically process an additional 115,000 requests annually
  • By using a mix of strategies, the CRA is aiming to make the experience better for Canadians who rely on its services
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES:
  • Service Feedback Program’ Problem Resolution Program workloads went back to meeting service standards as of September 9, 2025, one week earlier than the expected timeline
  • Over the 100-day period, CCB, DTC, and T1 Adjustment inventories saw significant reductions – as total inventory saw a 37% decrease, while cases outside service standards showed a 52% improvement
  • Processing times showed significant improvement over the 100-day period, with complex CCB applications reducing from 17 to 11 weeks and DTC applications from 14 to 10.6 weeks
  • Routine T1 adjustments decreased from 17.6 to 15.3 weeks, while complex T1 adjustments improved from 47.4 to 45.6 weeks

Pillar 4: Accelerating Service Modernization

ISSUE: How is the CRA speeding up service modernization?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA is testing new technology and tools to make it easier for Canadians to get the information they need, whether through their CRA Account, self-serve telephone options, or contact centre service representatives
  • The CRA enhanced its interactive voice response (IVR) system to automatically redirect payment enquiries to subject matter experts in the Agency, bypassing the need to first speak to a service representative and improving resolution times for callers
  • The CRA has initiated the development of a new telephony system, scheduled for launch in 2026.
    • On July 24, 2025, Bell Canada was awarded a contract for cloud-based contact centre service
    • This will deliver a new contact centre system to help support ongoing process and efficiency improvements
    • The new system will include features such as skill-based routing and quality management from Day 1, with advanced AI-driven functionalities, including guided scripts and virtual agents, to follow in subsequent phases
    • The CRA is working with Bell Canada to make sure the new system provides maximum benefit for taxpayers including adding new features (including artificial intelligence) to further improve efficiency and the service experience for Canadians

Requesting callbacks (Pillar 4)

ISSUE: How does the callback feature at the CRA work?

KEY POINTS
  • CRA has been exploring the potential for, and experimenting with, scheduled callback capabilities within the CRA digital environment
  • For example:
    • In September 2025, the CRA introduced priority services for specific topics using its Click-to-Talk service, which prioritizes these calls in our queues to help reduce wait times
      • Since then, the CRA has helped close to 60,000 Canadians resolve their CRA account lockout issues by providing an immediate callback
    • CRA has also tested a separate online web form for Disability Tax Credit (DTC) enquiries, and offered callbacks within two business days
    • In December 2025, the DTC web form was temporarily converted to Click-to-Talk, giving users an immediate callback
    • Most recently, the CRA has been working with tax preparers and professional associations in advance of filing season to determine ways to provide faster access to contact centre service representatives and reduce wait times for this group
    • These experiments will allow the CRA to:
      • Test the concepts for further use cases as the CRA looks towards the new contact centre system with Bell Canada
      • Gather feedback from Canadians

Performance Issues

CRA Contact Centre Quality & Accuracy

ISSUE: Are CRA service representatives providing accurate responses to Canadians?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA is committed to continuously improving its services, with a strong focus on ensuring the accuracy of information provided to Canadians
  • Contact centre service representatives receive training to equip them with the skills needed to provide accurate and helpful information to taxpayers
  • To enhance response accuracy, the CRA has implemented:
    • A structured quality assurance program
    • Targeted training initiatives
    • Technology-driven oversight tools
    • Quality monitoring program
  • This program monitors and supports service representatives in delivering accurate and high-quality responses
  • This fiscal year, the program has evaluated over 100,000 calls, achieving an accuracy rate of over 90%
  • To improve quality, the internal scoring system of service representatives will be updated to better focus more on ensuring answers are complete and accurate

Increased Call Duration

ISSUE: Why are calls to CRA service representatives longer recently?

KEY POINTS
  1. Increased tax filers and more benefits
    • The growing population of tax filers and the availability of more benefits and credits have increased demand for CRA services
  2. More complex issues
    • Many simple tasks are now resolved online through self-service options, making calls to service representatives focused on more complex issues
  3. Multiple topics in one call
    • Callers often address several issues during a single call, requiring service representatives to consult multiple sources to provide accurate responses
  4. Fraud prevention measures
    • With rising fraud attempts and identity theft, extra diligence is needed during calls to verify information and protect taxpayer information
  5. Digital support needs
    • Some calls, like those about CRA Account lockouts, sometimes require service representatives to guide callers through processes step-by-step
    • Many Canadians prefer that service representatives remain on the phone to ensure they complete their tasks correctly, which can extend the length of calls

The CRA is working to improve tools and processes so service representatives can assist Canadians more efficiently and reduce call times

Example of improvements:

  • Since February 2025, Canadians registered with My Account can use a one-time passcode sent to their phone for authentication, instead of answering multiple questions about their tax information
  • The CRA is collaborating with partners to make the authentication process even more efficient, while maintaining strict security requirements
  • These changes aim to reduce call times and improve the overall experience for callers

Use of AI Tools

ISSUE: How is the CRA using AI to better serve Canadians?

KEY POINTS
  • Where possible, the CRA is improving and modernizing services safely and securely with AI.
  • CRA is using AI tools to streamline routine interactions, reduce administrative delays, and support CRA employees in better managing workloads.

CRA’s AI Implementation Plan

  • CRA has an internal plan that has identified five key areas for AI use to help solve problems that impact CRA’s work:
    • Service Enhancements:
      • Providing fast, reliable digital services that reduce complexity and make it easier for Canadians to comply
    • Fraud Prevention and Security:
      • Using AI to detect cyber threats and prevent financial abuse more quickly and precisely
    • Tax Debt Management:
      • Improving debt recovery using predictive analytics and machine learning
    • Compliance and Risk Detection:
      • Developing models to uncover complex non-compliance schemes and improve risk targeting
    • Operational Efficiency:
      • Improving internal processes, reducing manual effort, and optimizing workflows through AI-supported decision-making and streamlined operations.

Current AI tools at CRA

  • CRA GenAI chatbot beta
    • From April to October 2025, the chatbot answered over 1.85 million questions across 1.3 million chat sessions—more than double the chat volume compared to the same period last year
    • Preliminary analysis suggests that increased chatbot usage could successfully reduce the number of calls that might otherwise be made to CRA contact centres, reducing wait times and improving access to service representatives

The CRA’s document verification service

  • The CRA implemented a tool to validate a client’s identity online
  • This allows Canadians to gain access to their CRA account immediately without the need to wait for a mailed CRA security code
  • To date, there have been 2.75 million successful document verification service transactions, leading to a 65% decrease in CRA security codes issued by mail

Self-serve options

ISSUE: How is the CRA providing / promoting self-serve options?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA continually looks to improve its digital services to give Canadians the online tools needed to confidently manage their taxes and benefits securely, independently, and on their own schedule
  • Many common enquiries, such as checking refund status, updating personal information, or registering for a CRA account, can be done quickly and easily online, 21 hours a day, 7 days per week.
  • Self-serve options allow Canadians to confidently manage their issues quickly online, while helping ensure phone support is available for those who need it most
  • Understanding when to call and when to use self-serve tools is key to improving everyone’s experience
  • To promote self-serve tools:
    • The CRA launched its “Skip the Line” online initiative to encourage more Canadians to use digital tools for faster, more convenient service
    • The CRA also launched a targeted social media campaign in Fall 2025

Taxpayer Relief Provisions

ISSUE: Does the CRA waive penalties and interest if they resulted from an incorrect answer from a CRA contact centre service representative?

KEY POINTS
  • The taxpayer relief provisions give the CRA discretion to cancel or waive penalties and interest when taxpayers cannot meet their tax obligations due to circumstances beyond their control
  • These can include:
    • financial hardship
    • extraordinary circumstances such as illness, and other circumstances outside the taxpayer’s control
    • actions of the CRA such as delays or incorrect information provided to a taxpayer by the CRA
  • Taxpayer relief requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis
  • When considering a request, CRA officials conduct a comprehensive review of the taxpayer's current and foreseeable situation
BACKGROUND:

The CRA administers legislation, commonly called the taxpayer relief provisions, which give the CRA discretion to cancel or waive penalties and interest when taxpayers cannot meet their tax obligations due to circumstances beyond their control

These can include:

  • Financial Hardship,
  • Actions of the CRA,
  • Extraordinary circumstances,
  • Other circumstances outside the taxpayer’s control

CRA actions may include:

  • Processing delays that result in taxpayers not being informed, within a reasonable time, that an amount was owing;
  • Errors in CRA material which led a taxpayer to file a return or make a payment based on incorrect information;
  • Incorrect information provided to a taxpayer by the CRA;
  • Errors in processing;
  • Delays in providing information, resulting in taxpayers not being able to meet their tax obligations in a timely manner; and
  • Undue delays in resolving an objection or an appeal, or in completing an audit.

Taxpayers or their authorized representative can make a request to cancel penalties and interest online using the CRA My Account, My Business Account or Represent a Client services by selecting “Request relief of penalties and interest”

The CRA has an online tool designed to help Canadians determine if they should apply for penalties and interest relief. The CRA’s self-evaluation and learning tool (SELT) is a valuable resource for assisting taxpayers and representatives in understanding how to support their request for relief

Service Feedback Program – Problem Resolution Service

ISSUE: Were there delays with the problem resolution service used by MPs?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA’s Service Feedback Program problem resolution service helps Canadians – via their Members of Parliament and through CRA contact centre referrals – when issues cannot be resolved through normal channels
  • The problem resolution service returned to meeting its service standard for processing cases on September 9, 2025 and it has met it ever since
  • This service is for cases like financial hardship, sensitive situations, and cases where the CRA has made an error
BACKGROUND:
  • CRA’s Service Feedback Program encompasses:
    • Problem Resolution service (service standard of actioning or updating cases within 15-business days); and,
    • Service Complaints workload (service standard of responding to complainants within 30-business days)
  • The Problem Resolution service is the main point of contact between MP offices and the CRA for taxpayer-specific cases
  • Cases can also be referred to the problem resolution service by CRA’s contact centre agents when criteria to access the service are met
Recent closed case volumes for both Service Feedback Program services are as follows:
Year Problem Resolution Service Service Complaints Total
2022-2023 27,298 10,808 38,106
2023/2024 33,832 14,900 48,732
2024/2025 39,967 19,702 59,669

Service Feedback Program – Service Complaints

ISSUE: The Service Complaints workload is not meeting its external service standard and has an accrued backlog.

KEY POINTS
  • Over the course of the past two years, the Service Feedback Program’s (SFP) Service Complaints (SC) workload has seen increasing intake volumes, driven by service challenges in other CRA programs.
  • In parallel, SFP resources, which support both Problem Resolution and SC services, were redirected to addressing PR backlogs over a 3-month period given the critical nature of this service
  • During the implementation of CRA’s 100-day Service Improvement plan, temporary resources were allocated to the SFP to increase results in both PR and SC.
  • As of September 9, 2025, the PR service returned to meeting its service standard, enabling resources to cap and begin reducing the SC backlog, which went from 10,695 during the week of November 21, 2025 at peak to 7,426 the week of January 19, 2026.
  • Given current inventory and resource level projections, CRA expects to return to processing SC cases within standards early in the 2026/2027 fiscal year.
BACKGROUND:

The CRA’s Service Feedback Program encompasses:

  • Problem Resolution service (service standard of actioning or updating cases within 15-business days); and,
  • Service Complaints workload (service standard of responding to complainants within 30-business days).
  • Processing times peaked at 105 business days the week of November 21, 2025.
  • The volume of service complaints received is 18% greater than in 24/25 and 60% greater than 25/26.
  • The service complaints workload is the CRA’s service recourse mechanism, and is the final step before taxpayers can escalate matters to the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson.
  • Service Complaints processing efficiencies have been implemented, including automation and the integration of generative Artificial Intelligence support to CRA Officers.
  • Transparent timelines for responses from the service complaints workload are posted on the CRA’s check processing times page and the submit service feedback page
Recent closed case volumes for both workloads are as follows:
Year Service Complaints Problem Resolution Service Total
2022/2023 10,808 27,298 38,106
2023/2024 14,900 33,832 48,732
2024/2025 19,702 39,967 59,669

Hard-to-Reach / Vulnerable Populations

ISSUE: How is the CRA improving outreach to vulnerable populations?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA works to ensure vulnerable populations are able to access tax benefits and credits in an easy and timely manner
  • The CRA continues to collaborate with ESDC and other government departments to identify opportunities to improve the services provided to individuals requiring a high level of support to access benefits through collaboration and coordination of outreach activities
  • The CRA continues to engage with community organizations to strengthen partnerships, with a particular focus on shelters and service providers supporting homeless individuals
  • The CRA continues to build upon changes implemented in response to recommendations to address tax filing challenges faced by vulnerable Canadians, such as:
    • expanding the Client Assistance Referral and Enquiry Service (CARES)
    • in addition to connecting clients with Service Canada’s Outreach Support Centre, CRA employees can now refer clients directly to a CVITP volunteer for tax filing assistance through the CVITP Direct Referral initiative
  • The CRA is also supporting ESDC’s development of a community resource page by ensuring the accuracy of CRA-related content included in the materials

Automatic Tax Filing

ISSUE: What is the status of the automatic tax filing plan

KEY POINTS

Pre-filled tax returns

  • Budget 2025 announced that the CRA will prepare a pre-filled income tax return for individuals with lower incomes and simple tax situations
  • This will help about 1 million individuals starting in 2027 for the 2026 tax year, scaling up to about 5.5 million individuals by 2029 for the 2028 tax year
  • Individuals will be able to access a pre-filled income tax return online in a CRA portal, and they must review and confirm or update the information on the pre-filled return to ensure that it is accurate and complete before they accept the return
  • The returns will be pre-filled using the information that the CRA has available at the time that the individual accesses the return online
  • The individual’s consent/acceptance is still required for the CRA to file the pre-filled return. Unlike traditional filing methods (e.g., paper, NETFILE, etc.), eligible individuals will not need to enter data and transmit the return themselves. Once the individual reviews and confirms/accepts the information on their pre-filled return, the CRA will automatically file the return for them
  • This will ensure individuals receive their entitled benefits, like the GST/HST credit, the Canada child benefit, and more
  • For some benefits, such as the Canada child benefit, individuals need to complete an application to start receiving them

Deemed filing

  • Budget 2025 also proposed to amend the Income Tax Act to provide CRA the discretionary authority to file a tax return for a taxation year on behalf of an individual (other than a trust) who meets all the following eligibility criteria:
    • the individual’s taxable income for the taxation year is below the lower of either the federal basic personal amount or provincial equivalent (plus the age amount and/or disability amount, where applicable);
    • all income of the individual for the taxation year is from sources for which specified information returns have been filed with the CRA;
    • at least once in the preceding three taxation years, the individual has not filed a return;
    • the individual has otherwise not filed a return for the taxation year prior to, or within 90 days following, the tax filing deadline for the year

SimpleFile Services

  • SimpleFile services are simplified tax filing methods offered by the CRA to eligible individuals with a lower income and a simple tax situation. These services are offered by invitation only.
  • In the upcoming 2026 filing season, the CRA’s SimpleFile services will offer close to 3M individuals secure options to file a tax return quickly, easily, and for free by phone, paper, or digitally
  • New in 2026, individuals who believe they may be eligible but did not receive a SimpleFile invitation can use the new eligibility questionnaire that will be available online to determine if they may qualify to use the digital service
  • SimpleFile services will complement the new automatic tax filing measures recently announced in Budget 2025

Staffing issues

CRA Workforce

ISSUE: Will the CRA still be letting employees go despite the plan?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA’s workforce expanded in recent years to deliver key temporary programs, including COVID-19 supports
  • The CRA is now re-examining its workforce as many of these temporary programs have ended
  • As part of the government-wide Comprehensive Expenditure Review, the CRA continues to assess its operational and workforce requirements to ensure long-term financial sustainability. Any staffing reductions will be achieved through a mix of attrition and workforce adjustment
  • Should workforce adjustments be required, every effort will be made to minimize impacts on employees.
  • Budget 2025 includes a proposal to implement a voluntary early retirement incentive program. This program would compliment the existing voluntary departure programs that are part of CRA's collective agreements.
  • CRA’s priority remains clear: delivering quality and fiscally responsible services to Canadians

Term Contact Centre Employees

ISSUE: Why isn’t the CRA renewing some term contracts for service representatives?

KEY POINTS
  • The CRA traditionally has a fluctuating workforce due to annual seasonal hiring for tax season
  • The CRA may extend some term employees beyond filing season, balancing service needs and fiscal responsibility
  • When needs increase, the CRA aims to rehire experienced, previously trained contact centre service representatives
  • Many contact centre employees are hired on a term basis, and employment timelines are defined in their letter of offer
  • Employees are clearly made aware of the duration of their contract
  • Employees are also told their contract may be lengthened or shortened based on operational demands, for instance:
    • May 2025: 1,300 term employees in the contact centres had their contracts end on their pre-determined end of term date, to coincide with the end of tax-filing season
    • September 2025: 850 term employees had natural end of contracts planned, but were extended to support service demands

Comprehensive Expenditure Review

ISSUE: How will the CRA be impacted by the Comprehensive Expenditure Review (as announced in Budget 2025)?

KEY POINTS
  • The Government announced the results of the government-wide Comprehensive Expenditure Review as part of Budget 2025
  • The CRA identified savings to be achieved by modernizing its administrative approach to enable greater productivity, and winding down certain business units that are no longer connected to government priorities
  • The CRA will also reinvest to improve services, strengthen compliance, and reduce tax debt, with an estimated positive fiscal impact of $1.1 billion annually from 2028-29 onwards
  • The CRA will continue to identify areas for further efficiencies by examining processes and opportunities to make greater use of new technologies

Additional issues

Delays in processing T1 adjustments

ISSUE: There are delays in processing T1 Adjustments requests due to insufficient resources for processing which has created backlogs.

KEY POINTS
  • Processing times for routine paper and complex requests currently exceed external service standards resulting in increased phone calls and service complaints. Digitally requested adjustments continue to be processed close to service standard.
  • As part of the 100-day Service Improvement Plan, the CRA has implemented several automations to decrease the number of adjustments that have to be processed manually.
  • In parallel, through the reallocation of resources during the 100-day plan, we significantly reduced inventories which helped improve processing times.
  • Despite these efforts, inventories remain high, particularly in the complex workload which often requires additional verification or contact with the taxpayer.
  • Continued resource reallocation efforts along with further planned automations will continue to reduce manual processing pressures.
BACKGROUND
  • Due to budgetary constraints and increased intake starting in fiscal 24/25, inventories and backlogs have grown significantly increasing processing times for T1 adjustments as high as 30 weeks for routine paper requests and 50 weeks for complex requests.
  • As of February 18, 2026, high inventories persist at the following levels with the following processing times:
    • Routine paper requests
      • Total: 152,249 files (47K taxpayers)
      • Outside the 8 week service standard: 25,895 files (15K taxpayers)*
      • Current processing time: 15 weeks
      • *These will be resolved within 1 week.
    • Complex requests
      • Total: 334,651 files (118K taxpayers)
      • Outside the 20 week service standard: 202,519 files (86K taxpayers)*
      • Current processing time: 43 weeks
      • *These will be resolved within 7 weeks
  • Continued investments in additional resources and technological improvements will be ongoing to help mitigate longer processing times during the April–July peak, when intake historically exceeds output.
  • We may expect a return to service standard later in the fiscal year, likely in the second half, with continued investments.
  • The majority of Canadians (or their authorized representatives) still choose to send in paper requests to make changes to their returns, even if they filed electronically to begin with. In 2024, over 2.5 million change requests were submitted by paper, which was 72% of all requests. Efforts are underway to help shift from paper to digital channels.

DTC/T1 adjustment issue

ISSUE: Processing delays in the Disability Tax Credit determination and related T1 adjustments have affected service to taxpayers.

KEY POINTS
  • From 2022 to 2025, the CRA has seen a sharp increase in the number of DTC applications received while program funding has remained stagnant. This has led to the CRA not meeting its published 8-week service standard.
  • As part of the 100-day Service Improvement Plan, the CRA leveraged strategic resource investments to bring down the DTC inventory levels, resulting in the reduction of processing timeframes from 15 weeks in September to less than 9 weeks as of February 13, 2026. Our aim is to return within service standards by the end of February to coincide with the start of the individual filing season.
  • As part of the 100-day Service Improvement Plan, the CRA implemented system enhancements so that more than 60% of DTC-related adjustments are now processed automatically, up from about 45%.
  • To speed up service, we also shifted over 200 employees to focus on DTC related adjustments during the 100-day plan — including those submitted through the DTC form T2201 where people ask us to adjust past tax years. As a result, DTC-related routine adjustments are now all within the published service standard.
  • We are exploring more automations to further improve the automatic processing rate beyond 60%.
  • Because of these improvements, the remaining files that require manual processing (now less than 40%) are being completed within our 8 week service standard for routine cases. More complex files still take longer.
BACKGROUND
  • On Form T2201 taxpayers may request that the CRA apply the DTC to previous tax returns for all applicable years. These adjustment requests (T1-ADJs) may result in refunds. Taxpayers may not be fully aware that DTC processing and T1 adjustment processing are handled as two distinct timelines. While the DTC application process involves the submission and approval of Form T2201, T1 adjustments, such as claiming disability amounts for dependants or spouses, are processed separately.
  • Due to higher than normal DTC application intake volume, the CRA is experiencing delays in processing Form T2201. At present, it may take up to 9 weeks to process a DTC application and issue a notice of determination to advise of the decision.
  • There are contributing factors resulting in the increase of the DTC intake, including the newly launched Canada disability benefit (CDB) in July 2025 and an increase of persons with disabilities participating in the workforce.
  • 98% of adjustment requests for the DTC are requested through Section 3 of Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, for individuals claiming the DTC for themselves or transferring the credit from a dependant.
  • Section 3 of Form T2201, allows taxpayers to request adjustments to their tax returns for the previous 10 years. Therefore, one Form T2201 can represent up to 10 adjustment requests. The average number of request per form is approximately 5.
  • Once eligibility is determined, adjustment requests can also be made through paper or our digital options (Change my return or ReFILE). When requested through digital options, adjustments can be processed in as little as 2 weeks if further verification is not required.
  • DTC related adjustment requests submitted on paper cannot be prioritized at intake because they are not identifiable until they are assigned to an employee for processing.

Carousel Tax Fraud (Overall)

Key messages:

  • The CRA remains committed to combatting aggressive GST/HST schemes that circumvent the spirit of Canada's tax laws.
  • Carousel schemes involve GST/HST registrants colluding in order to claim unwarranted refunds and intentionally avoid complying with our tax laws.
    • To combat this type of abusive non-compliance, the CRA’s strategies include early detection, prevention, and verification measures, and when appropriate, criminal investigations.
  • The CRA continues to work with partners in Canada and internationally to develop innovative solutions to improve our compliance approaches to address these schemes.
  • Almost $4.2 billion related to GST/HST schemes has been identified through the Aggressive GST/HST Planning Program from 2017-2018 to 2024-2025.
  • The confidentiality provisions of the Excise Tax Act prevent the CRA from discussing specific taxpayer information and ongoing audits or litigation.
  • The CRA cannot comment on potential legislative changes, as that is the purview of the Department of Finance.

Carousel Tax Fraud (What investments has the CRA made to better detect these aggressive GST/HST arrangements?)

Key messages:

  • The CRA has made significant investments in the detection and prevention of these aggressive GST/HST arrangements by expanding business intelligence and data analytics tools that identify and address wilful non-compliance.
  • We have enhanced our compliance activities of registrants through reviews, examinations, audits and criminal investigations where appropriate.
  • The ability to respond to threats in real-time helps the CRA prevent suspicious entities from infiltrating our filing population, while ensuring everyone meets their filing obligations.
  • As these schemes are often multifaceted, we are engaged in numerous collaborations with our tax administration partners.
  • Some of these activities include recurring engagements with our international partners to identify emerging risks and best practices, consultation with the Department of Finance, and a close partnership with the Department of Justice to provide support through the audit and litigation process.
  • Budget 2025 announced proposed changes to the Excise Tax Act (the “Act”) to help prevent carousel fraud and improve the overall fairness of the Canadian tax system. Specifically, the government is proposing to introduce a new reverse charge mechanism (RCM) beginning with certain supplies in the telecommunications sector.
    • The government will continue to monitor and assess the presence of carousel fraud in Canada in order to determine whether other supplies should also be subject to an RCM in the future. In this regard, the proposed new rules would include a new legal authority that would allow the government to make other supplies subject to an RCM by means of regulations.
    • Under the proposed new rules, suppliers would not be required to collect the GST/HST payable on a supply. Instead, recipients would be required to self-assess and report the tax payable in their GST/HST return.
    • If entitled, they would be eligible to claim an input tax credit (ITC) in the same return.

Carousel Tax Fraud (How does CRA tackle these schemes once they have been identified?)

Key messages:

  • Complementary to the CRA’s increased investments in data tools, the focus of our programs is to identify suspicious patterns as early as possible and prevent wilfully non-compliant entities from infiltrating our systems.
  • The CRA has audit programs that focus primarily on schemes based on suspicious transactions. Funding received from the Government of Canada in 2021, allowed the CRA to staff additional resources dedicated to combatting GST/HST schemes. As part of the approach for this program, CRA staff use a variety of tools to conduct audits which verify the transactions and activities of entities that may be participating in a GST/HST scheme.
  • The purpose of an audit performed by the CRA is to determine the correct civil tax liability. Throughout the audit process, the CRA uses the inspection and requirement powers of the Excise Tax Act for the purpose of establishing a correct assessment, including the application of civil penalties.

Parliamentary Information

PACP Member Profiles

Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) Committee Member Biographies

About the Committee

  • Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g) of the House of Commons, PACP has a mandate to, among other matters: “review of and report on the Public Accounts of Canada and all reports of the Auditor General of Canada, which shall be severally deemed permanently referred to the Committee immediately after they are laid upon the table”
  • As such, PACP is Parliament’s standing audit committee, and it reviews the work of the federal government’s external auditor, the Auditor General of Canada
  • When the Speaker tables a report by the Auditor General in the House of Commons, it is automatically referred to PACP
  • PACP selects the chapters of the report it wants to study and calls the Auditor General and senior public servants from the audited organizations to appear before it to respond to the Office of the Auditor General’s findings
  • PACP also reviews the federal government’s consolidated financial statements – the Public Accounts of Canada – and examines financial and/or accounting shortcomings raised by the Auditor General
  • At the conclusion of a study, PACP may present a report to the House of Commons that includes recommendations to the government for improvements in administrative and financial practices and controls of federal departments and agencies

Timing

As per a motion adopted on June 16, 2025, PACP conducts its meetings in the following manner with regards to timing:

  • Opening Remarks
    • Maximum time (per witness) - 5 minutes
  • Questions - Round 1
    • Conservative Party - 6 minutes
    • Liberal Party - 6 minutes
    • Bloc Québécois - 6 minutes
  • Questions - Round 2 (then repeated for subsequent rounds for duration of the meeting)
    • Conservative Party - 5 minutes
    • Liberal Party - 5 minutes
    • Bloc Québécois - 2 1/2 minutes
    • Conservative Party - 5 minutes
    • Liberal Party - 5 minutes

Membership

John Williamson (Chair since March 2022)

Conservative – Saint John—St. Croix (New Brunswick)
First elected to Parliament: 2011-2015, 2019-present
Tenure at PACP: January 2013-September 2013; February 2022-present

Biography

Prior to Williamson’s election to the House of Commons in 2011, he worked as Stephen Harper’s Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister. Outside of elected office, Williamson established Canadians for Affordable Energy and held senior positions with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. He was an editorial writer with the National Post at its inception in 1998 and founding member of the newspaper’s editorial board.

During his time in Parliament, Williamson has also served as a member of the House of Commons committee investigating all aspects of the Canada-China relationship.

Williamson has a master’s degree in economic history from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • As the PACP Chair since March 2022, Williamson has overseen significant CRA-related studies at the Committee (including on Report 1, Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations, of the May 2022 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and Report 10, Specific COVID-19 Benefits, of the 2022 Reports 9 and 10 of the Auditor General of Canada).
  • During those studies, Williamson has often underlined his belief that CRA should more adequately address emerging concerns and report more regularly to Parliament.

Ned Kuruc

Conservative – Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (Ontario)
First elected to Parliament: 2025-present
Tenure at PACP: June 2025 - present

Biography

Kuruc is a local entrepreneur and a former global sports entertainment executive. Ned has lived in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek his entire life, along with his wife Lisa and their three children, Vonn, Ilija, and Ivanna.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • N/A

Stephanie Kusie (CPC Critic for Treasury Board and the King's Privy Council)

Conservative – Calgary Midnapore (Alberta)
First elected to Parliament: 2017-present
Tenure at PACP: June 2025 - present

Biography

Kusie was born and raised in the community of Calgary Midnapore and earned a degree in political science from the University of Calgary. Kusie went on to obtain her Masters in Business Administration from Rutgers University.

As a diplomat for the Canadian federal government, Kusie served in Argentina in 2006; was chargée d’affaires and Consul for Canada in El Salvador from 2006-2008; and Consul for Canada at the Consulate in Dallas, Texas from 2010-2013. She also served as policy advisor to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for the Americas in 2009. In 2018, Kusie was elected to the Executive Committee of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas Interparliamentary Association. In March 2023, Kusie joined the Canadian Chapter of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the IMF as an Executive Member. Kusie speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • In May 2024, Kusie participated in a House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) meeting as part of its study of “Federal Regulatory Modernization Initiatives.” Kusie commented on the need for CRA to reduce its “negative” regulatory burden on small businesses.

Gérard Deltell (CPC Critic for National Revenue)

Conservative – Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk (Quebec)
First elected to Parliament: 2015
Tenure at PACP: September 2017-September 2018; June 2025 - present

Biography

Deltell was born and raised in Quebec City. He held party membership in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the 1980s. Deltell studied social science at Cégep de Sainte-Foy, graduating in 1984. He majored in history at Université Laval and graduated in 1989. He also received training as an announcer at the Collège des annonceurs radio télévision in 1982 and at École de radio et de télévision Promédia in 1993. He received a pilot’s license for ultralight aircraft in 2005.

Before he entered politics, Deltell worked as a TV correspondent with TQS. He also worked for TVA and Radio-Canada stations in Quebec City, as well as the CIRO-FM radio station as a radio show host. Overall, he worked as a journalist for a total of over 20 years.

Prior to entering federal politics, he represented Chauveau in the National Assembly of Quebec from 2008 to 2015 and was the leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) from 2009 until it merged with the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) in 2012.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • During a September 16, 2025 PACP Committee Business meeting, Deltell spoke at length his concerns with CRA’s “inadequate service” to Canadians, especially that incorrect information was often being provided to seniors (see Tab D2: Relevant PACP Meeting Transcripts). Deltell repeated a truncated version of these same criticisms in the House of Commons on September 18, 2025 during ‘Statements by Members’.
  • Additionally, Deltell participated in a November 2017 PACP meeting on Report 2, Call Centres—Canada Revenue Agency, of the Fall 2017 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada. Deltell was highly critical of CRA – calling on the Commissioner to “overhaul everything” given CRA’s poor service and that the organization needed to improve its culture writ-large. Deltell further remarked at the meeting that CRA’s attitude was “unacceptable” and that the CRA needed to acknowledge the reality of situation – underlying this was beyond an issue of technology, but culture. Deltell further asked what redress individuals provided incorrect information from a CRA call centre agent have available.

Sébastien Lemire (PACP Vice-Chair, Bloc Québécois Critic for Public Accounts, Sports, and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada)

Bloc Québécois – Abitibi—Témiscamingue (Quebec)
First elected to Parliament: 2019
Tenure at PACP: June 2025 - present

Biography

With degrees in political communication, public leadership, and corporate governance, Sébastien Lemire is a specialist in public relations and citizen participation. Before being elected in 2019, he worked at the Fédération de l'UPA d'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough of the City of Montreal, the Juripop Legal Clinic, Octane Stratégies, and the Forum jeunesse de l'Île de Montréal of the Conférence régionale des élus de Montréal.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • During a September 16, 2025 PACP Committee Business meeting, Lemire echoed concerns from CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell about CRA’s perceived poor services to seniors.
  • In 2022, Lemire additionally publicly commented on a plan by CRA to recruit 300 customer service agents to work in remote regions of Quebec, including Abitibi-Témiscamingue, as part of a two-year pilot project. Lemire noted that he would monitor the situation to ensure CRA’s ongoing commitment to the region.
  • In 2024, Lemire also publicly complained about CRA’s treatment of recreational vehicles (RVs) under the Excise Tax Act’s place of supply rules – noting that CRA had been examining the issue for years, but failed to bring forward reasonable solutions.

Jean Yip (PACP Vice-Chair)

Liberal Party – Scarborough—Agincourt (Ontario)
First elected to Parliament: 2017
Tenure at PACP: June 2018 - present

Biography

Yip was born in Scarborough, and raised in Agincourt, and has deep roots in the community. After completing her degree at the University of Toronto, Yip pursued a career in insurance and underwriting, becoming a team leader in her field. Yip holds the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional Designation.

Prior to becoming an MP, Yip has focused on her community and her family, stepping up to serve Scarborough—Agincourt. She has taught Sunday school at her church for over 13 years, and has been involved with the STEM Fellowship Board of Directors which promotes computer literacy and programming capacity among youth.

She also serves as Co-Chair of the Liberal Seniors Caucus. Yip is also a member of the Liberal Party’s Caucuses on Immigration, and Mental Health as well as Women’s and Scarborough Caucuses where she brings attention to the issues facing the people of Scarborough—Agincourt. Yip is a member of the Canada-China Legislative Association, as well as the Canada-Armenia, Canada-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Group, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • As a member of PACP since January 2018, Yip has participated in significant CRA-related studies at the Committee (including on Report 6, Canada Emergency Response Benefit, of the 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, Report 4, Canada Child Benefit—Canada Revenue Agency, of the 2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, Report 1, Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations, of the May 2022 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and Report 10, Specific COVID-19 Benefits, of the 2022 Reports 9 and 10 of the Auditor General of Canada).
  • While Yip has been consistently appreciative of CRA’s work on benefit delivery and in other areas, she has frequently sought reassurance from CRA that it is working towards implementing the recommendations from the OAG in their various reports.

Ron McKinnon

Liberal Party – Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam (British Columbia)
First elected to Parliament: 2015
Tenure at PACP: January 2026 - present

Biography

As a long-time resident of Port Coquitlam, Mr. McKinnon is a proud community advocate, from serving on the Evergreen Cultural Centre board, to working with Amnesty International.

Through his annual Community Champions program, he celebrates the leaders in his riding that are helping to build and better Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.

Recognizing that British Columbia is seized by an opioid crisis, he introduced a Private Members Bill, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. His legislation became law in May 2017 after receiving unanimous all-party support in both the House of Commons and Senate.

Prior to his election, he was a successful business owner and computer systems analyst for major firms in Canada, the US, and overseas. In the 1970s, he worked as a meteorological technician for Environment Canada's Atmospheric Environment Service.

Mr. McKinnon has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta and an honours diploma in Computer Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • N/A

Tom Osborne (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board)

Liberal Party – Cape Spear (Newfoundland and Labrador)
First elected to Parliament: 2025
Tenure at PACP: June 2025 - present

Biography

Prior to being elected, Osborne was the General Manager of the Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland and Labrador (DFNL).

Prior to being General Manager of DFNL, Osborne was a Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Legislature.

Osborne holds the distinction as the longest serving member of the NL legislature in the history of the province. He has held several cabinet positions throughout his provincial political career, including Minister of Environment, Minister of Labour, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, Minister Responsible for the Human Resource Secretariat, the Public Service Commission, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Minister of Education and Minister of Service NL. Osborne was also elected as Speaker of the Legislature.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • N/A

Kristina Tesser Derksen

Liberal Party – Milton East—Halton Hills South (Ontario)
First elected to Parliament: 2025
Tenure at PACP: June 2025 - present

Biography

Tesser Derksen is a devoted community leader with an impressive record of community service. A two-term elected town councillor, local lawyer, wife, mother, and engaged community member, Tesser Derksen has shown her determination to make life better for families in the community.

Tesser Derksen volunteers her time with several organizations, having sat as a Director on the boards of the Townsend Smith Foundation, Conservation Halton, Milton Chamber of Commerce, Milton Downtown Business Improvement Area and Canadian Federation of Women (CFUW). She is also a committee member of the Nassagaweya Community Consultation Committee and the Milton Quarry Community Advisory Committee.

Tesser Derksen’s professional career has always been in providing service: after several years working in the funeral service profession caring for families in Georgetown and Milton, Kristina studied law at the University of Toronto and runs her own Main Street practice in downtown Milton.

CRA-related issues raised in Parliament
  • N/A

Relevant PACP meeting recaps

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Topic of Meeting:
  • Report on the Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres, of the 2025 Fall
  • Reports of the Auditor General of Canada / Committee Business
Members in Attendance:
  • LPC: Jean Yip, Anthony Housefather, Tom Osborne, Kristina Tesser Derksen
  • CPC: John Williamson (Chair), Ned Kuruc, Gérard Deltell, Stephanie Kusie
  • BQ: Sébastien Lemire
Witnesses:

Canada Revenue Agency

  • Bob Hamilton, Commissioner of Revenue and Chief Executive Officer
  • Maxime Guénette, Assistant Commissioner, Service, Innovation and Integration Branch (by videoconference)
  • Hugo Pagé, Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administration Branch
  • Melanie Serjak, Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch

Office of the Auditor General

  • Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada
  • Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General
  • Mathieu Lequain, Principal
Summary:
  • Further to a motion passed at PACP on October 22, 2025, the Committee commenced its study of the October 2025 OAG Report on CRA Contact Centres, hearing only from officials from the CRA and the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). Shared Services Canada, the other audited entity in the report, was not invited to the initial meeting (as per the motion) and is expected to be called before PACP at a later date.
Opening Statements:
  • OAG’s opening remarks underlined its concern that – despite CRA’s new telephone system and other improvements - Canadians are still waiting too long to get answers to their tax questions. The OAG explained that CRA’s performance in meeting its own service standard to answer calls was significantly below target (and that callers did not receive real-time updates on their position in the queue, which limited their ability to properly assess whether it was better to wait, use self-service options, or end the call). The OAG added it placed calls to contact centres and asked general tax and benefit questions, finding responses to individual tax questions only 17% accurate and business tax or benefits questions only accurate just over half of the time. In contrast though, the OAG found much higher accuracy on questions pertaining to specific accounts. The OAG concluded by stating when it came to assessing contact centre agents’ performance, the CRA placed greater importance on how closely they adhered to their schedule for their shift and breaks than on the accuracy and completeness of information they provided to callers – which it declared ‘does not encourage a strong commitment to quality service’.
  • CRA’s opening remarks (delivered by the Commissioner) noted that it accepted the audit’s findings, adding how CRA’s 100-Day Service Improvement Plan (‘the Plan’) is helping address the audit’s recommendations. CRA also spoke to improvements to date because of the Plan (such as extended live chat support, easier methods to regain access to unlocked accounts, an expanded GenAI chatbot, etc.) While again underlying its acceptance of the OAG’s recommendations, the CRA also highlighted certain nuances such as: CRA had implemented a new telephone system with call recording, a quality assurance program, targeted training, and technology-driven oversight in 2018. It was also pointed out that in the last fiscal year, CRA’s quality assurance program evaluated over 100,000 calls – of which, 80% were related to specific taxpayer files. It was then noted that CRA results showed that these calls achieved an accuracy rate of 94%, as confirmed by the OAG. However, CRA acknowledged that the remaining 20% of calls related to general inquiries still require improvement. CRA then outlined its steps to improve such (like refocusing its quality assurance program). Finally, the CRA spoke to the ways it is looking to support longer-term improvements, beyond the Plan by resolving the root causes of service-related problems and its long-term modernization strategy.
Question and Answer Portion:
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell expressed his strong disappointment with CRA – noting he had never seen such a ‘devastating report.’ He underlined CRA’s poor service was impacting seniors and low-income Canadians, and that incorrect information had a major negative impact. Deltell asked if CRA was not ‘ashamed’ of its performance; CRA agreed it was disappointed in its recent performance and was working to improve the situation. CRA pointed to efforts to better information available to Canadians beyond calling its call centre (like information available online) – also reminding the Committee that its performance on account specific calls was stronger. Deltell asked about errors made by taxpayers due to relying on incorrect information from CRA call centre agents – and what options those taxpayers had to address such; CRA generally noted it has procedures in place to resolve such situations.
  • Liberal PACP Member Jean Yip asked why CRA was having so many problems with its contact centres; the OAG pointed to the shifting number of contact centre agents and the tools available to them (as 30% of call duration was hold time as agents looked for the correct information), as well as the time needed for verification of callers. Yip inquired if CRA’s Plan would help address the OAG findings; the CRA noted the plan started in September and will end in early December, and should help address many of the OAG’s findings. The CRA agreed having more agents is a positive for lowering wait times (‘you can answer more calls with more agents’), but also better tools would be equally critical to allow quicker access to information to response to callers. The CRA noted that the plan has already demonstrated improvements to date – including answering over 70% of calls, as well as new tools for agents and taxpayers to use (like easier ways to resolve locked-out MyAccount issues). It was added that CRA was posting results related to the plan’s progress online on a weekly basis.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire wondered why CRA’s performance assessment for contact centre agents was excessively focused on scheduling and breaks, not accuracy; CRA agreed there were some issues that need to be corrected. CRA said its evaluation program had 45% weight for call accuracy, and it monitored a significant number of calls monthly. CRA then outlined extensive training that agents receive. Lemire suggested that the assessment seems more concerned with agents answering calls quickly than accurately – and if this would be reviewed and if any revisions of such could be provided to the Committee; CRA said that verification of callers was a critical part of agent performance, but that accuracy was a key part the assessment as well. Lemire quizzed why CRA’s chatbot performed worse than other publicly available AI chatbots – and how CRA would correct that; CRA clarified that its chatbot was not part of the OAG audit as it was only a pilot, and therefore limited it what it could answer. CRA added in November 2025 the chatbot would be expanded to answer more business-related questions.
  • CPC PACP Member Stephanie Kusie asked when the plan was first initiated – before or after the OAG findings were shared with CRA; CRA said that it was aware of issues for a long-time (including holding consultations to improve services in fall 2024) and the Plan was in response to issues observed in recent months. Kusie said this was an issue for years, and CRA’s only recently addressing it was ‘pitiful’. Kusie then asked about Shared Services Canada contract with IBM and why many increases occurred; the OAG said some of that increase was related to a surge of calls related to COVID-19 benefits, but some other ‘red flags’ required a further OAG audit in 2026, to ensure that the new contract is better managed.
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen asked the OAG applied a scale of complexity that the agents had to deal with from callers; the OAG said they divided calls into three buckets – personal taxes, business taxes, and benefits. The OAG said its sample size was chosen with vigour and more than sufficient to allow it provide Canadians its findings with confidence – explaining in depth how it ensures integrity. The OAG also explained how it sampled call recordings to support its findings.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire noted the UTE said that the number of agents has fallen dramatically in recent years, despite a massive increase in the Canadian population; CRA conceded it was possible to take more calls with more agents, but CRA is required to operate within its budgetary framework – and is working to improve tools available to Canadians to reduce the number of calls in the first place. Lemire wondered where all the additional funding for CRA had gone in recent years though; CRA noted that the COVID-19 period required additional resources, but in the period following fiscal adjustments were required.
  • CPC PACP Member Ned Kuruc repeated the OAG finding that the CRA placed greater importance on how closely agents adhered to their schedule for their shift and breaks than on the accuracy and completeness of information they provided to callers (stating too much focus at CRA on ‘timestamps’, not quality and service), he then questioned how many more agents the CRA was looking to hire; CRA said that ensuring people were actually at work was critical, as well as the quality / accuracy of the agents work – noting it was seeking a balance of the two considerations. CRA also underlined that hiring more agents was not ‘the key’, as better use of technology and reducing the number of callers with better information online was critical. CRA also defended its training of agents, noting it was extensive – and had been improved after a previous OAG audit in 2017 of its call centres.
  • Liberal PACP Member Anthony Housefather asked if CRA’s management team was responsible for its daily operations – and if it wanted to contest the ‘damning’ findings in the OAG report; CRA agreed it was responsible for its daily operations – not the Minister, and said it did not doubt the findings. CRA clarified the accuracy results were surprising in the OAG report on general calls and the CRA would be paying attention to addressing that. Housefather questioned what efforts were made after the 2017 OAG audit; CRA outlined the considerable steps taken – including a new contact centre platform, which allowed for call recording. Housefather wanted to know why CRA’s chatbot – even a pilot version – was even put out if they knew it would be so inaccurate; CRA said the chatbot clearly stated its limitations – but that in November 2025 an expanded version would be coming. Housefather asked the OAG to clarify if its questions to the chatbot were aware of its limitations; the OAG noted it was indeed restricted to those areas (but only correct in the benefits area).
  • CPC PACP Member William Stevenson questioned how many agents work from home; CRA said it would provide the information in writing. Stevenson noted that CRA’s claims on ‘extensive’ agent training seem at odd with what the OAG report said (‘under 30 minutes annually’); CRA claimed the OAG report did not capture the entire of training provided to agents – and offered to provide in-depth explanation in writing. Stevenson complained that CRA’s deflected calls are not captured in data – and wondered when deflection measures are decided to be employed; CRA explained it made a commitment to ensure Canadians avoid ‘high wait times’, as such if wait time exceed 30 minutes, Canadians are asked to self-serve with online options. CRA said it would improve its deflection process – including potential automated options.
  • Liberal PACP Member Tom Osborne asked what CRA has done to determine the level of time and resources needed to implement its quality control and agent improvement processes; CRA explained that it recognizes it needs sufficient weighing for quality/accuracy assessment of its agents – and it is currently reviewing such. CRA also added it was seeing increase call duration since 2020, noting that increased time for caller verification was occurring. CRA further added it reviewed 130,000 calls a year, and 94% of those were deemed accurate responses. CRA said its quality evaluation program nevertheless would be reviewed as part of the plan. Osborne said the 17% accuracy number for general calls was concerning though; CRA agreed it was ‘troubling and we have to get on top in fixing that’ – but noted it was a small percentage of CRA’s overall call volume. CRA added that looking at errors made would help address the problems that need to be solved – especially ensuring that agents have access to better and quicker knowledge and information. CRA also stated the tax system is becoming ‘more complicated all the time’ and answering calls is very difficult in that environment.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire mentioned Service Canada and its inability to address tax questions; CRA said it has a good relationship with ESDC/Service Canada to reach vulnerable Canadians, especially to increase awareness of tax filing and benefits. Lemire said seniors have many issues accessing CRA services – saying they need a dedicated line for specialized services; CRA outlined its work to help vulnerable seniors specifically through awareness efforts, the CVITP, and the SimpleFile program (which benefits seniors in large numbers). In terms of a dedicated line for seniors, CRA said all options would be considered.
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell again stressed the OAG report was ‘shocking’ and that Canadians are waiting too long despite CRA’s recent funding; CRA agreed the wait times have been too long recently, but the plan had shown improvements – addinh CRA will be working hard to ensure improvements remains for next tax filing season through changes to lower call volumes like better information online and self-serve options. Deltell asked how CRA’s culture would be changed to better focus on accuracy and quality; CRA said it would review its evaluation process to determine how much focus should be on accuracy and quality as opposed to other factors. Deltell said that without the OAG report it would have been unlikely that the CRA would have taken efforts to improve the situation (despite the countless call MPs have received on the matter for years); CRA stressed it was confident in its efforts to improve services for Canadians.
  • Liberal PACP Member Jean Yip agreed that MPs have been receiving numerous calls about CRA’s backlogs and wait times, and wondered how quickly improvement could occur at CRA; CRA said that it is looking to address processing backlogs as part of the plan and beyond to address the root causes to prevent calls in the first place. CRA said with recent population growth and increased benefit/tax complexity, CRA is getting more demands (for instance, pointing to more DTC filing to access new federal disability benefits) – so addressing root causes early will help avoid calls. Yip wondered why CRA’s small business actual wait times were longer compared to CRA’s those posted online; OAG said the CRA’s posted wait times were often inaccurate, which limited small businesses ability to judge when best to call CRA – the OAG added the CRA’s accuracy rate for business tax calls was just over 50%, and better accuracy should be expected.
  • CPC PACP Member Stephanie Kusie asked about contracting issues with the contact centre contract; the OAG again said that more work was needed to examine this contract given the issues that arose in this audit, hence the upcoming 2026 audit. Kusie asked if such lax contracting controls were a larger issue with the Government writ-large; the OAG said this question plagues every auditor, but in this case Shared Services Canada did not properly scrutinize the invoices given the unclear responsibilities. Kusie then noted negative comments from her constituents about interactions with CRA agents, and how CRA would improve such poor service interactions; CRA admitted it hears such negative comments occasionally as well – and that Canadians should not have to endure such experiences, but it will work to understand and fix them. CRA though provided context that it receives 30 million calls a year – and it can never guarantee negative interactions might occur.
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen noted that the ITA was complicated and only getting more complicated – and how CRA would be ‘setting agents up for success’ in this environment; CRA admitted that the tax system was complicated and has not been simplified in recent years, CRA said better use of technology/AI could allow agents to find ways to explain the tax system – as well as adapting training to better address sophisticated tax questions. CRA also added in a period of rapid immigration that many new Canadians do not have familiarity with the tax system and require even more assistance. CRA stressed this was a ‘never ending quest.’ Derksen asked what other jurisdictions could be looked at to improved services; CRA noted it talks to other jurisdictions on ways to improve services – including ways to simplify the system, especially efforts on ‘auto-file’ that pre-populate returns (which could make the whole process simpler). Derksen wanted to know why CRA did not implement a ‘workforce management module’ as part of its telephony system and CRA’s future plans; CRA offered to provide information in writing but said that some items did not meeting CRA’s business functions– but CRA’s new telephony system would better serve CRA’s needs.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire asked about CRA’s professional services cost / call centre contract cost and asked about CRA’s guidelines for bonuses for executives; CRA said it had a robust system to ensure all employees perform well, but would provide more information in writing.
  • The Chair then asked if CRA was having issues with managing agents working from home – including limited access to certain types of information when working from home; CRA said that was more an issue about of ensuring agents were available to handle calls, predating work from home option. CRA offered to provide more information in writing on access to information when working from home.
  • CPC PACP Member Ned Kuruc recounted issues that constituents have had with incorrect information from CRA – and if CRA will reimburse those Canadians that rely on incorrect information from Canadians for interest, etc.; CRA then explained it has taxpayer relief provisions that can be used by taxpayers.
  • Liberal PACP Member Anthony Housefather inquired why Canadians cannot be told right away if wait times are exceeding 30 minutes; CRA noted once it knows that wait times are 30 minutes are longer they are deflected to a self-serve option, but offered to provide more information in writing to clarify. Housefather said that he had been told by constituents that Revenu Quebec provided better service than CRA, especially when it comes to escalating calls to more senior agents; CRA explained its efforts to direct callers to the proper tier to answer their question. Housefather finally wanted CRA to provide its own grade on customer service; CRA offered a grade between ‘B and C’, while the effort is there from CRA in a complex environment – but acknowledge that concerns exist on accuracy and quality, and long wait times. CRA conceded it was “now in a world where we do not have the resources” to get an A grade but will explore the tools necessary to get closer. The OAG then commented that CRA’s performance was ‘far from a passing grade.’
Committee Business:
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen moved the following motion: “Given that the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Secretary of State for the Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions wrote to the Standing Committee on Finance on September 2nd to offer to make themselves available to appear at the Committee at the earliest possible opportunity to speak about the CRA's 100 day plan to address service delays and access challenges, that as part of its study of the Auditor General's report on CRA’s contact centres, the Committee invite the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Secretary of State for the Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions to appear before the Committee to provide an update on progress to date on the Plan.” The motion passed unanimously, without debate.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Topic of Meeting:
  • Report on the Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres, of the 2025 Fall
  • Reports of the Auditor General of Canada / Committee Business
Members in Attendance:
  • LPC: Jean Yip, Anthony Housefather, Tom Osborne, Kristina Tesser Derksen
  • CPC: John Williamson (Chair), Ned Kuruc, Gérard Deltell, Stephanie Kusie
  • BQ: Sébastien Lemire
Witnesses:

Canada Revenue Agency

  • Hugo Pagé, Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administration Branch
  • Melanie Serjak, Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch
  • Denis Skinner, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Information Technology Branch

Office of the Auditor General

  • Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General
  • Lucie Després, Director

Shared Services Canada (SSC)

  • Scott Davis, Assistant Deputy Minister, Chief Financial Officer
  • Kristin Brunner, Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Services
  • Scott Jones, President
Summary:
  • Further to a motion passed at PACP on October 21, 2025, the Committee continued its study of the October 2025 OAG Report on CRA Contact Centres (the first meeting was held on October 23, 2025, with the CRA and OAG as the only witnesses). Today’s meeting included SSC and CRA officials, as well as the OAG. Further to a motion passed at the October 23, 2025 meeting, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Secretary of State for the Canada Revenue Agency will also be invited to appear before PACP as part of the study.
Opening Statements:
  • SSC opening remarks welcomed the OAG’s finding and accepted the recommendations. SSC explained it provides technology solutions for roughly 220 contact centres for partners across government – including administering the contracts, providing the IT infrastructure for contact centers (but partners decide what features to enable, which results in higher costs). SSC then cautioned that the OAG examined a contract “awarded over a decade ago, in 2015, long before modern cloud services existed”, arguing further that the “$50 million minimum is not and was never an estimated contract value. This is a mischaracterization and paints an inaccurate picture. A minimum commitment allows for vendor assurance they would recoup their initial set-up investment.” SSC then declared the contract is within budget – “as of June 2025, total cost for the first 10 years of the contract is $190 million. SSC’s total procurement authorities for this contract are $300 million”, adding it was regularly reviewed and monitored internally and by departments. SSC explained that the contract amendments that increased the contract reflected increased usage by CRA, added features to support agents and other business requirements from partners. SSC assured the Committee the Government “has received good value for money spent” and welcomed a further audit by the OAG. Finally, SSC explained that it had actively worked with industry and partners, including CRA, to apply lessons learned in awarding a replacement contract in July 2025. This includes stronger financial oversight and clearly defined roles for SSC and CRA, a separate contract for CRA (which will result in CRA having improved usage reporting and cost tracking), giving CRA access to the full range of current and future commercial features offered by the vendor, and more autonomy to deploy and manage features as their needs evolve without reopening the contract.
  • CRA’s opening remarks (delivered by the Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer, Finance and Administration Branch) noted the steps — working with SSC — to strengthen governance, clarify accountabilities, and ensure robust financial oversight. It was clarified that under the under the existing contract for the Hosted Contact Centre Service (HCCS), SSC serves as both the contracting and technical authority, while the CRA manages day-to-day operations of the contact centres (and defining business requirements). CRA underlined it agrees with the OAG recommendations on contract oversight and accountability, outlining the steps it will take to support SSC on implementation (like developing a Contract Operations and Partnership Structure Agreement, applying lessons learned to new Contact Centre as a Service solution procurement). CRA also stressed under the new procurement contract that it will assume the role of technical authority – allowing better oversight of service performance, technical delivery, and billing.
Question and Answer Portion:
  • CPC PACP Member Stephanie Kusie asked how the IBM contact amendments were approved by / informed to the Minister; SSC explained the contracting process and how amendments were made – including authorities up to $300 million (though the projections were for $190 million as far back in 2017, Kusie asked SSC for documents confirming such). Kusie wanted to know why performance penalties did not apply to IBM; SSC said this was a lesson learned, as there were no commercial terms and conditions in the contract. Kusie asked why contracts and invoices were not properly reviewed/audited; SSC assured it had control points to validate work.
  • Liberal PACP Member Tom Osborne inquired again about how the contract grew from $50 million to $190 million; SSC explained that the $50 million was minimum required for IBM to cover its expenditures, and the $190 million figure was related to orders related to use of the service (adding that $300 million was the maximum value for the contract). Osborne asked SSC and CRA to explain lessons learned from the contract; SSC stated how it will now align to commercial terms and conditions, moving away from asking for custom services not already available commercially, and requiring invoices broken down by entity. CRA added that being the sole client under the contract will allow more flexibility to adjust services to its needs, as well as ‘one bill’ to allow for easier certification and clarified roles with SSC.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire wondered if a commission of inquiry was needed to look at this contract further; SSC again stressed the contract value is still within the margin originally set –noting though issues with the Government asking for unique services that were not available commercially. Lemire asked SSC about various contracts (mainly with IBM) and if there were tender processes used – including the ten biggest suppliers used; SSC offered to provide the information in writing. Lemire sought specifics on why SSC used outside contractors for such projects; SSC explained that some services/systems cannot be developed internally.
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell referenced media reports about the Distribution Carflex Inc. issue and the lack of verification of refunds from CRA; CRA said it understood the concerns raised, underlying that CRA takes security seriously with controls to mitigate the risks surrounding suspicious transactions. Deltell asked what threshold is used for refunds to be automatically human reviewed (over $5 million?); CRA could not provide the exact figure due to ensure audit integrity. Deltell wondered how many similar cases are before the court like Distribution Carflex Inc; CRA said they knew of no other cases. Deltell inquired if CRA had changed its threshold after this case; CRA noted it could not share again that information, but stressed it works closely with financial institutions to detect and prevent fraud (Deltell was frustrated that CRA only knew about this case due to the intervention by TD Bank).
  • Liberal PACP Member Jean Yip question how SSC helps ensure outages were monitored and prevented; SSC noted it worked with the vendor to address issues with outages. Yip wondered if service credits were requested by IBM due to outages; SSC again repeated this was a lesson learned, and it would be moving forward with commercial terms and conditions. Yip also asked about if the services could have been provided internally; SSC stressed that using commercially available systems would be more efficient given the rapidly moving technological progress – including meeting the demands of CRA and other departments.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire inquired why CRA cannot better detect and prevent fraud in tax filings / refunds; CRA said it has better controls in place to detect and prevent such fraudulent transactions. Lemire then asked how CRA will ensure its chatbot provides reliable and accurate answers; CRA said its current platform is a beta version which it is testing and monitoring – and once that testing is a reliable point, the chatbot can move beyond the beta version.
  • CPC PACP Member Ned Kuruc repeated concerns about the lack of validation of invoices related to the contract; CRA clarified it does not approve/review the detailed invoices from IBM, but it does review the SSC invoices to ensure the amounts are reasonable and in-line with CRA’s forecasting / planned spending. SSC said it receives a detailed invoice from IBM and its control framework to validate it. Kuruc underlined that Canadians have been very upset with CRA’s ‘atrocious, very bad’ service delivery under the IBM contract – and how that will be improved; CRA underlined the IBM contract allowed new features like call recording, call routing, etc., and CRA added some other features on the contract as well. CRA stressed the new Bell contract will allow CRA to better focus on outcomes though.
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen sought more information on CRA’s new call scheduling pilot on service levels; CRA said this service will allow Canadians to schedule callbacks related to the DTC and MyBalance payments owed to the CRA (which has been ‘hugely popular since launching last week’). CRA said it was monitoring usage if this feature to see if it could be expanded. Tesser Derksen quizzed how many and how quickly the callbacks are occurring; CRA said for the DTC the service standard is within 2 business days (adding the feature has been used roughly 1,000 times since its launch in September 2025), though stressing this would not necessarily solve the DTC related issues for some clients. CRA added it has also recently launched a digital identity validation service to lessen the need for Canadians to request or receive a code in the mail – which has also been expanded to address issues with locked-out accounts (adding it had been used 5,550 since its launch last week). Tesser Derksen inquired how CRA will prevent fraud through these digital verification tools; CRA underlined it was aware of the threat of fraud, hence extensive testing and controls.
  • CPC PACP Member William Stevenson questioned why CRA had not utilized the callback feature for general inquiries previously; CRA said the callback feature had been in place before for general inquiries. Stevenson then wondered when CRA determine how many agents were needed to address service levels; SSC said it was responsible for ensuring the base service is available, but CRA would be responsible for staffing. Stevenson asked SSC and CRA for a written explanation of improvements in the new contract; CRA and SSC agreed to provide such. Stevenson sought how tax preparers were considered as CRA changes its services/systems to bolster fraud prevention; CRA agreed that some changes have been made to prevent fraud that created some friction with tax preparers – but it has been working closely with stakeholders to communicate those changes and work cooperatively.
  • Liberal PACP Member Anthony Housefather inquired about the $50 million minimum value for the contract and what that practically meant in terms of ensuring IBM could recoup its capital investment; SSC agreed that this was never a contract estimate, but the minimum value to provide financial safeguards to the vendor. Housefather then sought information on how items were valued in the contract; SSC agreed it was by item / usage billed by month. Housefather asked where SSC went wrong when setting penalties under the control; SSC said there was no commercial equivalent, as the Government defined its own terminology and required that certain Government services be used (taking away the accountability from IBM). SSC said it is fixing it in the current contract though and using standard commercial terminology (not ambiguous government terminology).
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire asked for a list of SSC contracts with IBM since 2015 (and overruns in such) and other contract related issues; SSC offered to provide such.
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell complained CRA agents were poorly trained, and this was a management problem. Deltell again asked what the threshold for an automated machine audit versus a human audit; CRA again could not provide an answer. Deltell was disappointed that a response could not be provided; CRA explained the threshold is adjusted according to the level of risk. Deltell said CRA should launch an external investigation on this issue, given the lack of answers today on the threshold for a human audit/review of a refund versus automated reviews; CRA explained its software is very sophisticated when it conducts its reviews. Deltell expressed surprised that CRA’s systems would be called ‘very sophisticated’ given the level of fraud in the Distribution Carflex Inc case; CRA stressed that its system looks at multiple variables.
  • Liberal PACP Member Tom Osborne asked about CRA’s plans to improve the accuracy of agent responses; CRA explained agents receive extensive training, but it is exploring using AI tools to improve responses by agents (including with Bell’s new contract platform). Osborne asked how CRA measures the accuracy of the agents; CRA purported its own evaluation accuracy showed 90% for account specific calls – but CRA would be improving training / coaching of agents, as well as implementing some automated quality review processes. CRA added these improvements would be part of its response to the OAG recommendations. Osborne quizzed how self-service tools are monitored to ensure accuracy; CRA said it monitors its tools regularly for quality and accuracy (including its testing on its chatbot). CRA then added increasingly more complex issues are dealt with by the call centres, as self-service options deal with more simpler issues.
  • CPC PACP Member Stephanie Kusie sought how much of the contract spent was not verified; SSC said a verification process was in place, and it looks forward to sharing that with the OAG for its 2026 audit on the contract. Kusie asked the OAG why SSC and CRA did not provide documentation showing it verified invoices – and if either had the ability to do so; the OAG said it found no evidence of validation of the invoices at CRA (especially related to usage), as SSC and CRA need to show exactly what Canadians are paying for. SSC acknowledged that it would apply the lessons learned in the audit to the new Bell Canada contract, including improved transparency and more control for CRA to employ specific features – agreeing that it would provide all documentation to the OAG, as it exists and should have been provided previously.
  • Liberal PACP Member Jean Yip wondered if the delays with the Problem Resolution Service had been resolved; CRA noted that the service standards are back within appropriate levels. Yip then asked if CRA’s services would be able to handle increased calls related to the upcoming automatic tax filing initiative from the Government; CRA explained it would be preparing likely user communications to targeted communities as well as ensuring its contact centres will be able to handle calls related to it. Yip asked how many calls CRA reviews for accuracy and what were the results for individuals and businesses; CRA explained it reviews over 100,000 calls a year and has an accuracy rate of over 90% for account specific questions (CRA offered to provide further information broken down by businesses and individuals). Yip asked if training of agents was continuous; CRA said training was indeed continuous, adapted to upcoming workflows and new tax measures.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire asked for GST/HST filing threshold for small business has not been indexed since the 1990s; CRA offered to provide an answer in writing, but noted this would likely be an issue for the Department of Finance. Lemire asked if CRA still has the capacity to accept and produce paper documents; CRA said the capacity still exists for such and that paper tax filing is still accepted.
  • CPC PACP Member Ned Kuruc repeated the question of what the threshold for a human audit was currently; CRA explained that there are multiple business lines (corporate taxes, personal taxes, excise taxes) and risks are assessed for each line (and thresholds adjusted accordingly). CRA again added it could not give specifics, as that would signal issues to fraudsters attempting to take advantage of the system. Kuruc complained media reports indicate that tax returns routinely processed without human oversight – even for large amounts, asking the OAG if an external review was necessary of CRA practices in this regard; the OAG stated it reviews the CRA regularly, and the question is how effective are CRA’s controls – and whether they need to be adjusted. The OAG also stated the PACP should consider other ways for CRA to be held accountable if it is reluctant to share information publicly for security reasons.
  • CPC PACP Member William Stevenson asked how CRA addresses errors made by its automated controls; CRA explained it looks at what lessons can be learned when such errors occur. Stevenson wondered why CRA’s improvement suddenly occurred after the launch of the 100-day plan; CRA claimed it had already been taking multiple steps prior to the plan, but the CRA was now fully focused on the issue since the plan launch – also stating that the fall is also a ‘low peak season, with lower call volumes naturally.’
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen asked what type of weight should have been given on agents for accuracy in their evaluation, given the 9% currently; the OAG said the current level does not show a strong commitment to service, but that this is something the CRA itself should address – but it would merit a higher score.
  • Liberal PACP Member Anthony Housefather also wondered about CRA’s threshold and if any lessons were learned because of the Distribution Carflex Inc. issue – including imposing standard thresholds for human review; CRA explained it adjusts its practices based on reported fraud but could not go further. Housefather expressed frustration with CRA’s non-answers on the issue, demanding again if standard thresholds would be employed regardless of risk; CRA offered to get back in writing.
  • The Chair asked the OAG to provide a closing statement and its thoughts on CRA/SSC seemingly undercutting the OAG findings with their excessively positive assessment of the situation – especially as all MPs have heard complaints about the CRA for a long time; the OAG again underlined it will review the contract in a future audit in 2026. The OAG added it difficult to hear that CRA or SSC would disagree with the findings after they provided much of the information and confirmed agreement with the facts / findings. The OAG said comments from CRA meant to distance from the findings were questionable as CRA has shown poor results in 2017 and its CRA own results for general questions were also poor. The OAG said that CRA’s claims of high accuracy should be reviewed, as they do not include those who did not get through an agent and only represent 2% of callers – in a period of increasingly high complaints about CRA. The OAG also wondered why CRA was making so many errors on transactional matters like the MyAccount. The OAG said while the 100-day plan results are encouraging, but cautioned this is low call volume season – and wondered if it will be sustained during tax filing season.

Thursday, December 4, 2025

Topic of Meeting:
  • Report on the Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres, of the 2025 Fall
  • Reports of the Auditor General of Canada / Committee Business
Members in Attendance:
  • LPC: Jean Yip, Anthony Housefather, Tom Osborne, Kristina Tesser Derksen
  • CPC: John Williamson (Chair), Ned Kuruc, Gérard Deltell, Stephanie Kusie
  • BQ: Sébastien Lemire
Witnesses:

Canada Revenue Agency

  • Hon. Wayne Long, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
  • Canada Revenue Agency (Jean-François Fortin, Deputy Commissioner)
Summary:
  • Further to a motion passed at PACP on October 21, 2025, the Committee continued its study of the October 2025 OAG Report on CRA Contact Centres. This was PACP’s third meeting on the matter, with previous meetings held on October 23, 2025, and October 28, 2025. The Secretary of State was specifically invited to appear further to a motion passed at the October 23, 2025 meeting.
Opening Statements:
  • The Secretary of State (‘the Secretary’) provided brief opening remarks that conceded that he and all MPs had heard concerns earlier this year about issues with contacting CRA – especially long wait times. The Secretary explained after taking office in May 2025 he was made aware of issues with the Problem Resolution Service, with wait times “off the charts”, and he quickly focused on improving that – including allocating 50-60 more agents to the service, which helped get wait times back within the 5 days service standard for a response – and within 15 days for resolution. The Secretary declared that this demonstrated to him that if a problem could be clearly identified and focused on, as well as allocating proper resources to fix it, that CRA could have success. He then noted that this brought to light larger problems at CRA, which led to him pushing for CRA’s 100-day Service Improvement Plan (‘the Plan’). He briefly spoke to the various pillars of the plan, such as expanded digital information to help reduce call volumes, addressing call drivers upstream, accelerating service modernization, and more. He underlined that through the Plan that the CRA was already addressing the OAG report’s findings and recommendations – and stressing now the focus was on looking to a 5-year long-term plan to ensure that CRA offers the service that Canadians expect and deserve going forward. Finally, the Secretary underscored that he was accountable for CRA’s performance going forward.
Question and Answer Portion:
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell noted Liberals have been in power for over a decade and CRA’s service quality decreased throughout; the Secretary stressed he took office in May 2025, and he is looking forward to addressing future issues – not looking at the past. He explained the Plan is showing ‘amazing progress’, demonstrating that having the CRA more focused on produced results – and now the priority is to move beyond the short-term ‘band-aid’ of the Plan to long-term solutions. Deltell complained that former Liberal National Revenue Ministers had done nothing to improve the situation after the 2017 OAG audit that showed similar issues with CRA call centres; the Secretary defended the performance of the former Ministers. Deltell then sought confirmation if the Secretary attended Cabinet meetings and had decision making powers; the Secretary confirmed he did indeed attend Cabinet meetings and had decision making powers. Finally, Deltell quizzed why CRA has allowed Brookfield not to pay all its taxes owing in Canada; the Secretary noted he could not comment on individual tax cases.
  • Liberal PACP Member Anthony Housefather applauded the Secretary for using a business lens to fix issues at CRA – adding he has been often shocked to hear how poor CRA’s service is compared to Revenu Quebec. Housefather then asked what type of tone the Secretary is using to fix issues at CRA; the Secretary stressed that tone gets set from the top, and he is someone that is not content with the status quo. He did state though, while accepting the OAG findings generally, that CRA has a very strong accuracy performance on the 80% of calls it receives that are specific in nature (which even the OAG admitted was at 90% accuracy levels). He also downplayed the OAG poor accuracy findings on general inquires, remarking that OAG sample size was small (160 calls) and that CRA’s much larger sample size showed a much higher accuracy rate. The Secretary implored that he wanted Canadians to understand that CRA provides world-class service and accurate information. Housefather then asked about CRA’s plans for enhanced training and better information for agents; the Secretary remarked that the CRA is working to ‘set them up for success’ through the Plan (including extending contracts and allocating more funding to hotspots), which has shown ‘amazing progress.’
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire briefly complained the Minister of Finance and National Revenue was not present. He then asked why CRA has favoured short-term contracts in the past, which does not allow for proper training of agents – and may be contributing to poor accuracy rates; the Secretary again noted he cannot speak to past decisions, but going forward the CRA would work to move resources to the right areas, as demonstrated by extended contracts to 770 agents to support the Plan. He also explained that with tax season coming up that CRA will “make sure we have the proper resources to lessen the bumps in the curve and have smoother sailing moving forward”. He added that CRA’s long-term 5-year plan will work to make CRA the “gold standard” in the G7, especially with the new Bell Canada call system. Lemire asked for confirmation if more cuts were coming at CRA, as had occurred in recent years; the Secretary responded that CRA was asked to deliver numerous programs during the COVID-19 era, and then had to downsize as those programs ended – with the focus now to look at hotspots to determine if reallocation was needed. He further mentioned work to push more Canadians to digital tools, especially as relates to issues with unlocked CRA accounts.
  • CPC PACP Member Ned Kuruc recalled the Secretary’s past comments on CRA services being at ‘rock bottom’, questioning why now he seems to be challenging the OAG report. He then asked if the Secretary agreed with the OAG’s report; the Secretary explained while he accepts the OAG report, but did not necessarily agree with all the findings related to accuracy levels. Kuruc inquired about delays in processing DTC applications; the Secretary conceded that the processing is now taking 10 weeks, as opposed to the 8-week service standard.
  • Liberal PACP Member Jean Yip sought details about the Plan; the Secretary noted that the Plan aims to better focus work at CRA to provide better service to Canadians – though initiatives like extending agent contracts, expanded digital service options to have people do more tasks online (like unlocking accounts, make payments, etc.). He then added what a ‘big fan’ he was of CRA’s call scheduling pilot that has shown ‘great promise’, calling it a ‘huge development’ with the current DTC-specific pilot showing positive feedback/results. Finally, he also briefly touched on efforts to reduce call drivers and service modernization (noting the transition from IBM to Bell Canada call system was ahead of schedule and will occur in 2026, providing more modern AI-systems). Yip then wondered if business call wait times improved under the Plan; the Secretary clarified that business calls have a different wait times as opposed to what was reported in the Plan.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire pressed the Secretary on what he specifically rejects in the OAG report; the Secretary explained his issue with the OAG report was a small sample of 160 calls was being used to paint the whole CRA as providing bad information – and that might be preventing people from calling CRA. He committed that CRA will nevertheless take the findings from the report and try to improve.
  • CPC PACP Member William Stevenson quizzed if the Secretary accepted the OAG recommendations; the Secretary agreed that he accepts the specific OAG recommendations. Stevenson then wondered if the Secretary was responsible for decisions that CRA makes; the Secretary emphasised that CRA and the Minister/Secretary role are different, and the CRA generally operates at arms-length (noting though he has a ‘wonderful relationship’ with the Commissioner and others at CRA). Stevenson then questioned if CRA had increased agent training as a result of the OAG report; the CRA official explained that agent training is a continual process and that CRA is always looking at ways to improve it. Stevenson finally sought assurances that CRA will continue to assist the elderly and others without access to computers that use paper filing; the Secretary pledged that CRA will always have a ‘healthy and well-staffed’ call centres for Canadians to call.
  • Liberal PACP Member Tom Osborne asked a broad question about improvements to CRA under the Plan; the Secretary again recounted taking office in May 2025 and his early work to address issues with the Problem Resolution Service – and how that led to the Plan. He stressed that CRA now has ‘direction for first time in a long time’, making key steps to address issues. He added that he will push CRA to keep looking a different hotspots, like issues with locked CRA Accounts and other areas to prevent people from calling. He added that while the Plan was a success, now was time to look at a long-term plan.
  • CPC PACP Member Gérard Deltell complained CRA agents were poorly trained, and this was a management problem. Deltell again asked what the threshold for an automated machine audit versus a human audit; CRA again could not provide an answer. Deltell was disappointed that a response could not be provided; CRA explained the threshold is adjusted according to the level of risk. Deltell said CRA should launch an external investigation on this issue, given the lack of answers today on the threshold for a human audit/review of a refund versus automated reviews; CRA explained its software is very sophisticated when it conducts its reviews. Deltell expressed surprised that CRA’s systems would be called ‘very sophisticated’ given the level of fraud in the Distribution Carflex Inc case; CRA stressed that its system looks at multiple variables.
  • BQ PACP Member Sébastien Lemire inquired about why performance assessment of agents is more focused on scheduling and breaks, as opposed to accuracy, and then wondered if this will be adjusted; the CRA official agreed that this is being examined for ways to improve, including greater weight to accuracy in the assessment.
  • Liberal PACP Member Kristina Tesser Derksen sought more information CRA’s work beyond the Plan, including working with other departments; the Secretary expressed excitement about CRA’s new AI-chatbots, as the new chatbot should reduce call volumes by providing Canadians more timely information.


Page details

2026-06-22