The Canada Revenue Agency is under scrutiny after spending $190 million on dysfunctional call centres. A public accounts committee questioned CRA managers after auditors again found 1-800 operations slow and inept.

Conservative MP John Williamson, committee chair, acknowledged the impact of the issue on their offices and Canadians. MPs unanimously approved a motion for Agency managers to provide an explanation,  according to Blacklock’s.

Go Ad Free

Auditors reported the Agency still couldn't handle calls despite hiring 4,547 agents and lowering service standards. In 2017, their standard was 80% of calls answered in 2 minutes, but by 2019, it dropped to 65% in 15 minutes.

Only 18% of callers reached an agent within 15 minutes, with June seeing just 5% meet this standard. Callers averaged 31 minutes waiting, nearly double the previous year.

This follows the CRA spending $190 million on IBM upgrades for eight call centres across Canada. The report, Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres, estimates the contract will reach $214 million by 2027.

Committee calls @CanRevAgency execs for questioning on how they spent $190M upgrading call centres with 4,547 staff & still can't answer the phone: "Why should Canadians tolerate this?"  https://t.co/fdnZgAGOi0 @BobWKHamilton pic.twitter.com/yOsFXw3g84

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) October 22, 2025

Between February and May 2025, auditors made 167 calls, posing as tax filers, to test the accuracy of responses to general tax questions. Callers typically waited 30 minutes on hold.

“We found that once connected to an agent, the average time spent speaking with the agent was approximately 17 minutes,” wrote auditors. “However about 27 percent of that time was spent on hold, either while the agent searched for information or transferred the call to another agent.”

CRA agents frequently provided inaccurate information, according to Contact Centres. Accuracy rates were 54% for business/benefits questions and only 17% for individual tax questions. The specific questions were not detailed in the report.

The CRA doesn't know how to pick up the phone.

The CRA doesn't know how to give out correct information.

Yet Carney thinks the CRA can file people's taxes?

No automatic tax filing! pic.twitter.com/OCWVI3kuZp

— Franco Terrazzano (@franco_nomics) October 21, 2025

Following its publication, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) demanded immediate action to simplify the tax code. “The fact that the CRA is providing the wrong information so often is proof that nobody understands the impossibly complicated rules and the government needs to simplify the tax code,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director.

The Income Tax Act is approximately 3,600 pages, comparable in length to the entire seven-book Harry Potter series. 

Meanwhile, the CRA increased its contact center agents by 1,030 to 4,547 from 2019-20, and recently extended contracts for 850 agents and rehired hundreds more. 

“Hiring more bureaucrats to give even more wrong answers won’t actually fix the problem,” said Terrazzano.

.@TaxpayerDOTcom warns automatic tax filing is ‘a significant gov't power grab’

The government's justification for this system is that it helps low-income and disadvantaged individuals.@kris_sims and @SheilaGunnReid discuss.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is introducing… pic.twitter.com/GQAxlngimx

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 20, 2025

Auditor General Karen Hogan expressed concern to the public accounts committee yesterday about the CRA’s poor service, stating that Canadians should expect timely and accurate information from the CRA in return for providing their tax returns accurately and on time, which is currently not happening.

Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie criticized the agency, stating Canadians "continue to pay more and get less" and asking if they would "ever get value for money." She questioned why Canadians should "tolerate this unacceptable service." Auditor Hogan responded, seeing "lots of opportunities within the Canada Revenue Agency to improve."

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne stated the audit was expected, acknowledging the need for improved services for Canadians and expressing dissatisfaction with the current situation.

Similar to a 2017 report by then-Auditor General Michael Ferguson, this audit also criticized managers for poor call centre service, stating, “They gave us wrong information.”