The Canada Revenue Agency headquarters at the Connaught Building in Ottawa in a file photo. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Commentary
The conclusions of the June report released by the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson surprised nobody who has had to deal with the Canada Revenue Agency in the last 10 years. Wait times for calls average over 3.5 hours and it can take weeks before an inquiry gets an answer. This problem was reported in an auditor general’s report in 2017 and, to add insult to injury, it was found that even if a person manages to get through to an agent, they are given incorrect information 30 percent of the time.
