The Canada Revenue Agency plans to recruit or rehire approximately 1,700 call center employees in the coming months to cope with the anticipated surge in calls during the upcoming tax season. Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, stated that the agency aims to have around 4,500 agents to handle the expected high demand. During the busy tax-filing season, the agency typically experiences over 300,000 phone calls daily.
Last year, the CRA had about 3,300 call center staff at the peak of the tax season. This year, the agency is in the process of hiring over 1,000 additional employees to increase the workforce beyond that level. Serjak emphasized that it is customary for the CRA to enhance its staffing levels during the peak season to ensure operational flexibility throughout the year. Currently, there are approximately 2,700 employees working at CRA call centers.
As the agency aims to bolster its staff, other government departments and agencies are cautioning employees about potential job cuts. The Public Service Alliance of Canada disclosed that 219 members at Natural Resources Canada were notified of possible job reductions. Additionally, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada reported that 200 members at Natural Resources Canada were also served with notices. Furthermore, notices were issued to 109 individuals at the Public Service Commission of Canada, 92 at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and 74 at the Department of Finance.
To reduce program spending and administrative costs by approximately $60 billion over the next five years, Ottawa is conducting a comprehensive expenditure review. This initiative involves restructuring operations, consolidating internal services, and making workforce adjustments to ensure a more sustainable public service level.
Assistant Commissioner Maxime Guenette mentioned that decisions regarding potential cuts at the CRA are still pending at the agency level. While the hiring for call centers will focus on temporary workers, an evaluation is ongoing regarding the permanent workforce at the agency. Guenette assured that there are no planned cuts or workforce adjustments at the CRA until the end of the calendar year.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day deadline for the CRA to address call center delays, with a target of achieving a 70% call answering rate. The CRA reported a significant increase in the number of unique calls answered during this period, surpassing the initial 35% target and reaching peaks of 92%.
The CRA aims to maintain the 70% call answering goal in the coming months and throughout the tax filing season. Efforts to enhance service quality include expanding digital self-service options and improving the GenAI chatbot’s capabilities to answer various queries. Despite criticisms of inaccurate information provided by call center staff, the CRA asserts that agents offered correct information in 92% of reviewed call recordings this year.
Wayne Long, the secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency 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.