The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is planning to recruit or re-engage approximately 1,700 call center employees in the upcoming months to handle the anticipated surge in calls during the tax season. Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, mentioned on Wednesday that the agency aims to reach a total of around 4,500 agents to manage the expected high demand.
Serjak explained that it is customary for the CRA to boost its workforce levels during the peak season when they can receive over 300,000 calls daily. Last tax-filing season, the agency had about 3,300 call center staff, and they are now in the process of hiring more than 1,000 additional individuals this year to increase that number.
While addressing potential job cuts in other departments and agencies, the CRA is focusing on expanding its staff. The Public Service Alliance of Canada reported that notices of possible job cuts were sent to members at various institutions. Ottawa aims to reduce program spending and administrative costs by approximately $60 billion over the next five years through a comprehensive expenditure review.
Regarding the CRA’s call centers, assistant commissioner Maxime Guenette stated that decisions on workforce adjustments are still pending at the agency level. Although the hiring for call centers will involve temporary workers, a thorough analysis is ongoing for the agency’s permanent workforce. Guenette assured employees that no cuts or workforce adjustments are planned until the end of the year.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day timeline for the CRA to address call center delays by December 11. During this period, the CRA has significantly improved its call answering rate, reaching the target of 70% and even peaking at 92%. The agency intends to maintain this efficiency in the upcoming months and during tax filing season.
The CRA has been actively working to enhance its customer service by implementing digital self-service options, including expanding its GenAI chatbot’s capabilities. Despite recent criticism from the Auditor General about accuracy in answering tax questions, the CRA reported that agents provided correct information 92% of the time based on call recordings reviewed 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 efforts to improve the agency’s services beyond the 100-day plan.