Executive Summary

Introduction

We became an agency to provide more affordable, timely, accessible, and better quality service to Canadians, to forge stronger relationships with our partners, and to realize operational efficiencies. In short, we want to make a difference. We have embarked on a far-reaching innovation program to transform our business, keeping pace with changes in technology, business and management practices, government priorities, and Canadians' expectations.

We have accomplished a great deal, although not as quickly as we had planned in all areas. We gained some critical insights, perhaps the most important relating to how we can realize meaningful change that cuts across the fabric of our agency. Simply put, it takes more than a year to put all the enablers in place that provide the springboard for significant breakthroughs in performance.

Creating a dramatic culture shift, while effectively managing the toll that change can take on our employees, requires time and an unwavering focus on our ultimate objectives. We must, however, remember that we are working toward a solid deadline, Parliament's five-year review of our success in meeting Canadians' expectations.

The tragic events of September 11 were a true test of how fit and responsive we are as an organization, in our ability to adjust quickly to completely unknown territory. Our results show that the foundation we established for our change agenda enabled us to respond swiftly and effectively, while continuing to deliver on our core agenda of promoting compliance.

This Annual Report allows us to take a step back, examine our overall performance, and ensure that we are headed in the right direction. We have consulted with many businesses and stakeholders, and they confirm that we are on track. Still, there are areas where we need to improve, and Canadians' expectations for our performance are higher than when we first became an agency.

While there are still many new initiatives that we could introduce to further our change agenda, we have decided at this point in our journey to focus on finishing the work that Canadians will recognize as making the right difference. We are committed to getting the job done well, and to sharing our experience and the lessons we learn along the way with our colleagues. Guided by our Minister and Board of Management, we will continue to transform the CCRA, while balancing the need to ensure the highest possible performance in our core operations day to day, within the context of our funding base.

Date modified:

2002-11-07