The Canadian government is actively developing a comprehensive long-term strategy to tackle issues within the Canada Revenue Agency as the agency’s 100-day initiative to enhance its services approaches its conclusion next week. Wayne Long, the Secretary of State for the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions, informed the House of Commons public accounts committee that a three-to-five-year plan is in progress for the agency, with confidence that it is moving in the right direction.
Long emphasized that the current 100-day plan, which primarily focused on alleviating call centre delays, is merely a temporary fix, expressing the commitment to continue enhancing services beyond its completion next week.
Following a four-month period of contacting the CRA’s call centers this year, the office of Auditor General Karen Hogan revealed in October that only 17 percent of individual tax inquiries were accurately addressed by staff. Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, shared with Members of Parliament that the agency is exploring the implementation of advanced training programs and artificial intelligence to enhance the accuracy of advice provided by CRA agents to the public.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne established a 100-day timeline on September 2 for the CRA to tackle call centre delays, with a deadline set for December 11.