The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is planning to recruit or rehire approximately 1,700 call centre employees in the upcoming months to handle the anticipated surge in calls during the upcoming tax season. Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, mentioned to the media that the agency aims to have a total of around 4,500 agents to address the expected high demand.
During peak seasons, such as the tax-filing period, the CRA typically boosts its workforce due to the substantial volume of inquiries, sometimes exceeding 300,000 phone calls per day. Last year, the agency had about 3,300 call centre staff, and this year, efforts are underway to increase that number by over 1,000 individuals.
Assistant Commissioner Serjak highlighted that the CRA routinely rehires or extends contracts during peak periods to ensure operational flexibility. Currently, approximately 2,700 employees are working at CRA call centres.
Amidst discussions of potential job cuts across various government departments and agencies, the CRA is focusing on expanding its staff while other sectors are facing employment uncertainties. Organizations like the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada have reported possible job reductions affecting hundreds of employees.
The government is aiming to reduce program expenditures and administrative costs by around $60 billion over the next five years through a comprehensive expenditure review. This initiative involves operational restructuring, internal service consolidation, workforce adjustments, and attrition to achieve a more sustainable public service size.
Regarding potential cuts at the CRA, Assistant Commissioner Maxime Guenette mentioned that decisions are still pending at the agency level. While temporary workers will be part of the hiring at the call centres, the analysis regarding the permanent workforce is ongoing.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day deadline for the CRA to address call centre delays, with significant improvement observed in call response rates. The agency aims to sustain a 70% call response rate moving forward into the tax filing season.
Despite efforts to enhance service quality, Auditor General Karen Hogan’s report in October highlighted some inaccuracies in CRA call centre responses. The CRA, however, asserts that its review of call recordings indicated a 92% accuracy rate in providing information.
Wayne Long, secretary of state for the CRA and financial institutions, informed the House of Commons public accounts committee about the government’s ongoing long-term planning for the agency as the 100-day service improvement plan nears completion.
