In a damning recent report unveiled on Tuesday, the auditor general highlighted persistent shortcomings in Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) contact centres, where timely call responses and accurate information are lacking. Despite the CRA’s commitment to answering 65% of calls within 15 minutes, only 18% met that target in 2024-25, plunging even lower to below 5% in June. The auditor general conducted 167 test calls between February and May, revealing an average 33-minute wait time to reach an agent, with a total query resolution time of around 50 minutes.
The CRA’s internal data corroborates this decline, as the average wait time to connect with an agent has doubled to 31 minutes per caller annually. Moreover, the call centres redirected approximately 8.6 million calls in the past year, a significant surge from the 1.4 million redirected calls in the previous year. Consequently, customer complaints soared by 145% between 2021-22 and 2024-25, despite the CRA reporting a 77% satisfaction rate from customer surveys.
The auditor general recommended that the CRA streamline call triaging processes, especially regarding issues related to the MyAccount online portal, which is a common reason for call volumes. The auditor general also exposed the prevalence of inaccurate information provided by CRA agents, with only 17% accuracy in responses to general tax questions, and slightly higher accuracy rates for benefit and business tax inquiries.
Even the CRA’s AI tool, Charlie, displayed subpar performance, providing accurate responses only a third of the time. The audit revealed a lack of focus on improving accuracy, with minimal coaching and training hours allocated per agent annually. Additionally, the AG criticized the inefficiencies in the CRA’s contract with IBM for telephony services, highlighting the absence of real-time updates for callers on queue positions.
Liberal MP Wayne Long, the secretary of state for the CRA, acknowledged the issues and mentioned the implementation of a 100-day service improvement plan. While efforts to hire more staff have slightly improved call resolutions, the focus remains on answering calls rather than meeting specific response time targets. Long emphasized the need for the CRA to enhance its performance and accountability.
In other audit findings, the AG highlighted challenges in military recruiting and the poor conditions of military housing. The Canadian Armed Forces faced difficulties converting applicants into recruits due to long recruitment periods and housing shortages. Defence Minister David McGuinty announced pay rate increases and ongoing construction of new housing units to address these issues. The AG also reported on the progress in Indigenous Services Canada programs, including the lifting of long-term drinking water advisories and efforts to tackle nursing shortages on reserves. The audit also scrutinized the federal government’s child care program, noting discrepancies in cost targets and slow progress in creating low-cost spaces nationwide.