Many Canadians are complaining they can’t reach anyone at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by phone to address important tax matters, and the union representing agency workers has joined affected taxpayers in pleading with the federal government to fix the problem.
“It’s just so frustrating and disappointing,” said Krista Tucker Petrick of North Bay, Ont., one of several affected taxpayers interviewed by CBC News.
She said she has been calling the CRA at least twice daily for weeks to deal with her late stepmother’s estate.
Tucker Petrick says every time she calls, she’s not even put on hold. Instead, she’s greeted by an automated recording about CRA online service options.
“It’s a government service. Well, I’m not getting any service,” she said.
Regina bookkeeper Erin Rudd says she started experiencing the same problem in May. Now, staff at her company take turns spending the entire day trying to call the CRA to address urgent client matters.
They’re rarely successful in getting through, Rudd added.
“We redial and then we get the ‘All our agents are busy, please call again’ [message] and we start all over again,” said Rudd, owner of Black Star Accounting. “Some days we wish we had a screaming room in the office because we literally want to scream.”
Krista Tucker Petrick of North Bay, Ont., said she has been calling the CRA at least twice daily for weeks to deal with a pressing matter regarding her late stepmother’s estate. (Sophia Harris/CBC)
The Union of Taxation Employees, which represents CRA workers, says nearly 3,300 call centre employees have lost their jobs since May 2024. Consequently, says the union, on average, fewer than five per cent of callers reach an agent.
On Thursday, the union launched a social media campaign to condemn the job cuts and warn Canadians that if Ottawa proceeds with planned further cuts, it will only become more difficult to speak to a CRA agent by phone.
“The future right now looks very bleak,” said Marc Brière, the union’s national president.
“We’re advocating for them to stop the bleeding.”
‘Taking a lot of abuse’
Brière estimated that between 3,500 and 4,000 call centre employees remain at the CRA.
Not only do most incoming calls go unanswered, said Brière, but the staff are struggling with the workload.
“People are absolutely exhausted and they’re crying for help.”
He added that employees must also deal with irate callers who — when they finally reach an agent — want to know why it is so difficult to get through.
“They’re taking a lot of abuse on the phone lines.”
Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, wants Ottawa to increase the CRA’s budget and hire back the call centre workers that have been let go. (Franck Pierron/CBC)
Brière said more job losses are expected at CRA’s call centres due to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent call for federal ministries to significantly reduce program spending. The spending targets would see cuts of 7.5 per cent in the fiscal year that begins in April 2026, followed by 10 per cent the year after and 15 per cent in 2028-29.
Brière argues that Ottawa needs to increase, not decrease, the CRA’s budget and hire back the call centre workers that have already been let go.
“If not, that’s going to be absolutely disgusting,” he said. “It’s going to be, ‘Don’t bother to call us, we can’t even pick up the phone anymore.'”
Hi Joey. Due to high call volumes, some calls are redirected to automated options. If you’re unable to connect with an agent, please try again later. You may also find helpful info here: https://t.co/SODP2Xcz67 Thanks for your patience.
In an email to CBC News, the CRA didn’t address Carney’s proposed cuts.
Agency spokesperson Etienne Biram said the agency’s workforce can fluctuate due to seasonal hires, which includes 1,300 call centre workers let go in May when their contracts expired.
Biram said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA also added temporary staff to deal with pandemic-related benefits, who were recently let go due to the benefits winding down.
However, Biram also said the CRA’s budget has been impacted in recent years for various reasons, such as savings initiatives.
“While these changes affect staffing numbers, the CRA’s priority remains ensuring that Canadians continue to receive the services they need,” he said. Biram added the agency offers enhanced “digital tools that help reduce wait times and free up agents for those who need them most.”
Callers on hold
CBC News interviewed several taxpayers who say they’ve been trying in vain — sometimes for months — to reach the CRA by phone, as they can’t get their issues addressed online.
Social media has also been flooded with complaints.
Reddit contains dozens of discussion threads about the topic, with titles such as “CRA endless phone loop” and “How to speak to a human at the CRA?”
A Fifth Estate/Radio-Canada investigation has uncovered that hackers accessed thousands of Canada Revenue Agency accounts, changed direct deposit information, submitted false returns and reportedly pocketed tens of millions in bogus refunds.
Tucker Petrick, who is the executor of her late stepmother’s estate, said she needs to speak with a CRA agent to make a simple request. She needs the agent to grant her accountant access to the estate so he can deal with the tax paperwork, a task she wasn’t able to do online.
Until the paperwork is done, she can’t pay out money left by her stepmother to her and three other beneficiaries, she said.
She says on the first day, Aug. 5, she called the agency 671 times over seven hours.
“I was in tears because I’m trying to clean this estate up,” she said. “I have a fiduciary duty to three other beneficiaries.”
Tucker Petrick said she hopes to eventually reach an agent. She also hopes the government will reverse its cuts to the call centres.
“You need to do better,” she said. “You can’t just keep cutting service and expect that the system is going to run. It doesn’t.”
Bookkeeper Erin Rudd of Regina says her business designates one employee each day to spend their shift trying to reach a live agent at the CRA. (Sophia Harris/CBC )
Back at Black Star Accounting Services in Regina, Rudd says the CRA call centre problem is hurting her business — and not just because an employee is tied up every day redialing the agency.
Rudd said she must also deal with upset clients whose cases remain in limbo until her office can reach the agency to address their issues.
“The public is getting frustrated, we’re getting frustrated,” said Rudd.
When asked if she has a message to send to the government, Rudd’s response was succinct.
“Help,” she said.