CRA has 'no plans' to extend tax deadlines if workers strike

Will Canada Revenue Agency workers go on strike? Marc Brière, with the Union of Taxation Employees, discusses the reasoning behind a possible workers strike at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Although the union representing Canada Revenue Agency workers have voted in favour of a strike position, the CRA says the filing deadlines remain.

"There are no plans to extend the T1 tax filing deadlines, as a potential strike in no way impedes the ability of Canadians to file their taxes electronically or on paper," a spokesperson for the agency told CTV News on Thursday. "Canadians should take steps to ensure their return is filed by May 1, 2023, along with payment for any balance owing."

The CRA says access to its online services, such as My Account, will continue to be available in the event of a strike. However, the agency says there may be longer wait times at its call centres, and processing delays for "some income tax and benefit returns, particularly those filed by paper."

Last Friday, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Union of Taxation Employees announced that 35,000 CRA employees will be in a legal strike position as of April 14 if no deal is reached. The union has been asking for a 4.5 per cent raise effective Nov. 1, 2021, and an 8 per cent raise in both 2022 and 2023.

The agency has previously said that it's doing "everything it can to resolve this labour dispute."

The CRA and PSAC are set to have a final round of negotiations from April 17 to 20. Meanwhile, PSAC announced a strike mandate for all other federal civil servants this Wednesday, affecting more than 120,000 employees.

With files from CTV News Ottawa and CTV National News Parliamentary Bureau Reporter Annie Bergeron-Oliver