Watchdog to investigate how CRA handles taxpayers' complaints

Canada's taxpayers' ombudsperson says lack of clarity can lead to varying timelines for resolutions

Canada's taxpayers' ombudsperson is launching an investigation into how the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) handles complaints, citing concerns about timeliness and fairness.

Ombud François Boileau made the announcement Tuesday after his initial review suggested that it's not always clear for taxpayers where to go when they have an issue and that the lack of clarity leads to varying timelines for people seeking help.

"At the end of the day, the CRA is a federal agency. It is meant to serve the public, and the public expects good service," Boileau said in a news release.

The news release notes that there are "different avenues" for taxpayers to take their complaints depending on the nature of their issue. For instance, a person trying to push a tax dispute would go through a different process than someone filing a service complaint.

"This lack of clarity can lead to ... perceived unfairness, particularly for taxpayers who need urgent action," the release said.

Taxpayers complain of long waits for CRA to fix its errors

Investigation follows AG report

Boileau's investigation comes after the federal auditor general released a scathing report last fall that blasted the CRA contact centres for failing to answer calls in a timely manner.

Prior to that report, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day timeline for the CRA to address delays.

While the government says that the 100-day plan improved service delivery, the program concluded in early December.

Wayne Long, secretary of state for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions, said in December that the government is working on a longer-term fix to the CRA's service delay concerns. CBC News asked Champagne's office for an update on the new plan, but a spokesperson referred the question to the CRA. The agency has yet to respond.

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC's Power & Politics. He holds a master's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds a master's degree in arts from Queen's University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.

With files from The Canadian Press