Canada Revenue Agency adding resources in contact centres to meet demands

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) national headquarters in Ottawa on June 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is implementing additional resources in its contact centres and extending CRA online chat hours, as it looks to improve services for Canadians.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on Sept. 3 that he directed the Canada Revenue Agency to launch a 100-day action plan to improve service and reduce delays.

The union representing CRA employees said wait times “have exploded” to as long as 3.5 hours at the CRA call centre, and “fewer than five per cent of callers are reaching an agent.”

On Friday, the Canada Revenue Agency said its 100-day service improvement plan will focus on four key areas, including increasing the ability to answer more calls and expanding digital self-service options.

“We understand that many Canadians have recently faced difficulties in accessing timely assistance from the CRA, whether you are trying to call the CRA or waiting for a response to a specific request,” the CRA said in a statement.

“Your experience with the CRA is important, and we are fully committed to strengthening services, improving access, and reducing delays.”

The Canada Revenue Agency said it increased the number of service representatives in contact centres as of Sept. 8, and “expect to continue augmenting the number of agents in the coming weeks.”

“Additional resources will help us better meet the demands for assistance and reduce wait times,” the CRA said.

The Canada Revenue Agency said the percentage of Canadian callers answered increased from 37 per cent in the period of June 23 to July 4 to 57 per cent during the first week of September. The CRA’s goal is to reach 70 per cent of calls answered by mid-October.

As of Sept. 29, the CRA is extending service hours for the CRA online chat to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and as of Oct. 20, existing CRA account users will have the option to self-service and register again for a new credential if they are locked out of their account or have forgotten their credentials.

The other two areas of focus for the CRA are addressing the root causes of service issues and accelerating service modernization.

“We are working to resolve the underlying factors that lead to service delays. For example, we will implement a plan to reduce the backlog for tax adjustments to help Canadians receive more timely responses,” the CRA said in a media release. “The CRA has launched targeted teams to identify and implement key initiatives that improve processing times across programs facing important service delays, such as T1 tax adjustments. These initiatives will improve the overall client experience through streamlined processes and the use of advanced technologies like generative AI and robotic process automation.”

The Canada Revenue Agency says it is also piloting a new call-scheduling system to make it easier to contact CRA staff.

“We recognize there is an opportunity for us to enhance our service delivery to better meet the needs and expectations of Canadians,” the Canada Revenue Agency said in a statement. “We are fully committed to taking swift action to making improvements in the very short term.”

The Union of Taxation Employees, which represents CRA employees, has called on the federal government to hire more call centre agents to handle the higher call volumes.

The union has said over 3,000 jobs had been cut at the Canada Revenue Agency since last fall, including a decision not to renew the contracts for 1,300 call centre employees.

Last month, the Canada Revenue Agency announced the contracts for 850 employees that were set to expire on Sept. 5 have been extended until March 31, 2026.