A recent report by the auditor general criticized Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) contact centres for their ongoing failure to respond promptly to calls and for providing inaccurate information to customers. Despite CRA’s commitment to answering 65% of calls within 15 minutes, only 18% met this target in 2024-25, with less than 5% in June. The AG’s office conducted 167 test calls between February and May, revealing an average wait time of nearly 33 minutes to reach an agent.
The report highlighted that the CRA took an average of 31 minutes to connect with agents, twice as long as the previous year. Moreover, the agency deflected 8.6 million calls last year, a significant increase from 1.4 million the year before. Customer complaints surged by 145% between 2021-22 and 2024-25, despite the CRA reporting a 77% satisfaction rate in surveys.
The AG recommended improvements in call triaging, especially for issues with the online portal, MyAccount, which often leads to agent ties. The report also revealed significant inaccuracies in responses provided by CRA agents, particularly for general tax questions. The accuracy rates for benefit and business tax inquiries were marginally better but still insufficient.
Furthermore, the CRA’s chatbot, Charlie, only provided accurate answers a third of the time. The report emphasized the lack of effort by the CRA in enhancing accuracy, with minimal coaching and training hours per agent annually. The audit also uncovered shortcomings in the CRA’s contract with IBM for telephony services.
Liberal MP Wayne Long acknowledged the issues and stated that the CRA has initiated a 100-day service improvement plan, focusing on increasing call responses. The report also addressed challenges in military recruiting and housing conditions, highlighting delays in converting applicants to recruits and poor living conditions for Canadian Armed Forces personnel.
Despite improvements in Indigenous Services Canada programs, the audit pointed out persistent challenges in addressing nursing shortages on reserves and meeting commitments to lift long-term drinking water advisories in Indigenous communities. The federal government’s child care program also faced delays in creating low-cost spaces nationwide.