Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Sept. 2 released a

statement

on his X account acknowledging concerns about the

Canada Revenue Agency

’s (CRA) service standards, saying the “service delays and access challenges Canadians are experiencing from CRA call centres are unacceptable.”

He went on to say he has directed the CRA to implement a 100-day plan “to strengthen services, improve access and reduce delays.” Such a plan will apparently include “reallocating and adding personnel, piloting a new call-scheduling system and expanding digital services, among other measures.”

The CRA’s challenges are

numerous

, well documented and include poorly trained auditors, issuing reassessments to taxpayers that are lacking in technical substance, slow adoption of digital platforms, poor access and the challenges of a workforce largely “working from home.”

Its massive growth in headcount in recent years has certainly not solved those issues. In 2015, the year the Liberal Party came to power, the CRA had 40,059 employees. In 2024, the CRA’s

headcount

was 59,155. That’s a staggering 47.7 per cent increase in staffing in less than a decade. Recently, it has decreased slightly, but not materially.

In the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s recently released

analysis

of the government’s 2025–26 departmental plans, it said the federal public service is projected to hit 445,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in 2024–25, an increase of more than 13,000 FTEs compared to the previous year’s plans. Of that bump, the CRA alone was responsible for about one third.

The CRA said it will slowly trim its FTE headcount down to about 47,700 by 2027–28, but even if that goal is met, that would be a 19 per cent increase over a 12-month period, with very little to show in terms of better service for Canadians.

Yes, digital services provided by the CRA have certainly improved over the years, but there’s much more to do. In addition, the CRA has added lots of helpful information to its website to assist with technical and administrative matters that deserve kudos. It also recently added an AI chatbot that performs OK with basic questions.

Notwithstanding, one of the most visible challenges to the average Canadian and tax professionals is the CRA’s call centres. The CRA acknowledges such challenges on its website and even has a

myth-busting section

about such calls with the following remarks:

Myth: The CRA does not answer the phone.

Fact: We understand how frustrating it can be to wait for help. The CRA answers between 36,000 and 38,000 calls every day to support Canadians with their needs. When wait times go beyond an average of 30 minutes, we redirect calls to automated services to provide you with secure, easy-to-use options.

Myth: Letting more people join the phone queue would mean more calls get answered.

Fact: Call volumes currently exceed our capacity to respond. When we reach full capacity, we redirect calls to automated services. Think of it like a full glass of water: adding more doesn’t help, it just overflows. Letting more callers into the queue wouldn’t make it possible to answer more calls, it would only increase wait time and frustration.

So, essentially, during high-volume times, it admits it won’t take your call. Instead of trying to address the systemic issue about why its call volumes are so high, it provides an example of a full water glass. Not good.

The challenges with CRA call centres are not new. I have been practising tax for almost 35 years and it has always been difficult to get through. Lately, though, it has been noticeably worse. Is it because the CRA doesn’t have enough staff or, as the finance minister hinted, is “adding personnel” necessary? More personnel is not the sole solution as the experience of the past decade has shown.

Given the above, the minister’s 100-day plan risks being little more than politics dressed up as progress. The call centre problem is systemic and complex, and no amount of headcount shuffling or additions will fix it. That said, acknowledging the issue is a start, but Canadians deserve more than vague promises.

If the government is serious, here are five obvious practical steps that could form the backbone of a 100-day plan:

Implement callback queues and a scheduling system

: End the “full glass of water” excuse. Allow taxpayers to keep their spot in line and receive a callback instead of being dropped even if the callback occurs on a different day (give the taxpayer the option for that). And get that scheduling system pilot well underway. Direct routine questions to automation only when taxpayers consent.

Set hard service standards

: For example, set a standard of answering a high percentage of calls within the shortest period, with the option of getting the callback or scheduled call as per above.

Expand the dedicated telephone service for income tax professionals

: Presently, the dedicated telephone service for professionals is only for technical matters and is not able to deal with account or other administrative issues for professionals’ clients. There should be a dedicated service for this. In conjunction with this, make the “represent a client” process more efficient and quicker.

Independent oversight

: Establish a call centre ombudsperson to review complaints and publicly report on performance and systemic failures.

Train new hires better

: Unfortunately, it’s been too apparent that new hires of the CRA are not trained well. That needs immediate improvement.

On the 100th day of the minister’s action plan — Dec. 11 — the CRA’s call centre problems won’t magically vanish. But Canadians should at least see a realistic plan that includes the above and a comprehensive outline of expanded digital services that can be acted on quickly, but be empathetic to those who will never adopt digital tools.

Taxpayers don’t need more “full glass of water” excuses, and we certainly don’t need this exercise to be more political theatre.

  • A tax on empty rooms is just another empty promise to raise revenues by the left
  • Canada needs a budget delivered on time and here’s how to do it

Progress, not perfection, is what’s expected on day 100. Canadians are tired of getting soaked.

Kim Moody, FCPA, FCA, TEP, is the founder of Moodys Tax/Moodys Private Client, a former chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, former chair of the Society of Estate Practitioners (Canada) and has held many other leadership positions in the Canadian tax community. He can be reached at kgcm@kimgcmoody.com and his LinkedIn profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimgcmoody.

_____________________________________________________________

If you like this story, sign up for the FP Investor Newsletter.

_____________________________________________________________