OTTAWA – The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is planning to hire or rehire approximately 1,700 call centre workers in the coming months to manage an anticipated surge in calls for the upcoming tax season. Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, stated that the agency aims to boost its workforce to about 4,500 agents to handle the “very high forecast” in demand during this peak period.
Typically, the CRA experiences increased call volumes during the tax filing season, receiving over 300,000 phone calls per day at its peak. Last year, the agency had roughly 3,300 call centre staff engaged during this busy time, and this year’s hiring initiative seeks to elevate that number by over 1,000 personnel, as noted by Serjak.
Serjak emphasized the CRA’s practice of rehiring or extending term contracts during high-traffic seasons, which provides the necessary flexibility to manage operations throughout the year. Currently, there are about 2,700 employees working in CRA call centres.
At the same time, several Canadian government departments are facing potential job cuts. The Public Service Alliance of Canada recently reported that 219 members at Natural Resources Canada have received notices indicating possible job reductions. Additionally, around 200 members from the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada reported similar notices, along with 109 employees at the Public Service Commission, 92 at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and 74 at the Department of Finance.
In response to the nation’s financial challenges, the federal government is seeking to trim program spending and administrative expenses by about $60 billion over the next five years, an initiative referred to as its Comprehensive Expenditure Review. It aims to restructure operations, consolidate internal services, and involve workforce adjustments to achieve a “more sustainable level” of public service.
When addressing the CRA's hiring strategy, Maxime Guérette, another assistant commissioner, indicated that decisions regarding potential cuts within the agency are still under review. He assured that employees have been informed there are no plans for workforce adjustments from now until year-end. Although the new call centre positions will primarily involve temporary workers, a thorough evaluation of the agency's permanent workforce continues.
On September 2, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne imposed a 100-day timeline for the CRA to resolve delays in call centre responses, with a deadline set for December 11. During this timeframe, the CRA reported that the percentage of unique calls answered has notably improved from 35% to its target of 70%, achieving peaks of up to 92%.
Serjak highlighted the CRA's goal to sustain the service level target of 70% throughout the upcoming months and into tax season. However, she acknowledged that it is impossible for the agency to answer 100% of the calls, and there may be instances where they could fall short of the 70% target, even with the planned staffing increase.
The CRA has actively worked to alleviate the volume of inquiries through enhanced digital self-service options, including an expansion of the capabilities of its GenAI chatbot to answer a broader range of questions. An October report by Auditor General Karen Hogan revealed that after assessing 167 calls to CRA’s contact centres, only 17% of individual tax inquiries were accurately responded to by agents. Meanwhile, responses to business tax or general benefits questions had an accuracy rate of just over 54%.
In contrast, the CRA, in a recent news release, claimed that its review of more than 100,000 call recordings from this year found an accuracy rate of 92% in information provided by agents. Furthermore, Wayne Long, the secretary of state for the CRA and financial institutions, informed the House of Commons’ public accounts committee that the government is developing a comprehensive three-to-five-year plan for the agency as the 100-day plan to improve services approaches its conclusion.
