The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Log in

Supporting our UTA colleagues at the CRA

Bob Hamilton
Commissioner,
Canada Revenue Agency
555 MacKenzie Avenue, 7th Floor Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
By email: bob.hamilton@canada.ca

February 19, 2021

Dear Mr. Hamilton,

I am writing today regarding the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) recent decision to hire a third-party contractor to answer questions from taxpayers about emergency benefits and their impact on returns in the weeks ahead.

While I agree that various programs introduced to help Canadians during the pandemic may well result in a substantial increase in the number and complexity of questions fielded by the CRA during the upcoming “tax season”, I do not understand why public service professionals have not been asked to perform this work.

Private call centre staff are much likelier to provide incomplete or inaccurate information to taxpayers than CRA personnel. Their training is not of the same calibre and they are not held to the same standard of confidentiality as public service employees. Many Canadians may not realize they are not speaking to a CRA professional and may inadvertently provide confidential information to these private-sector call centre agents. And I don’t have to remind you of the complete fiasco that ensued when hundreds of hastily-prepared call centre agents were hired to provide assistance to federal employees experiencing complex pay problems caused by Phoenix.

The Agency had many options to provide these services internally, including the hiring of Term employees, and I see no good reason why it chose to look to an external provider to do so.

On behalf of the thousands of PIPSC members employed by the CRA, I support the Union of Taxation Employees on this matter and I call upon you to immediately reverse this decision. Canadian taxpayers deserve the best service possible. Contracting out this critical work will once again prove more expensive and less effective than if it were performed by knowledgeable and experienced public service professionals.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President

Published on 1 March 2021

24 March 2017
Parliament Hill

Budget 2017: Staying the course is not "Real Change"

The release of Budget 2017 has generated a variety of lukewarm reactions: “Stay the course,” “wait and see,” “lots of words, few dollars.” All of these phrases describe a situation where an ambitious Budget 2016, coupled with an uncertain economic climate, has led to an uninspiring final product
13 March 2017
Stop C-27!

Stop Bill C-27! Send this postcard to your Member of Parliament.

Help protect the retirement security of all Canadians! Download and print this postcard and send it to your Member of Parliament or order your pre-printed copies by email from bettertogether@pipsc.ca
2 March 2017
Day of Action

PIPSC Members Participate in Phoenix Day of Action

Last Friday marked the ‘sad’ first anniversary of the Phoenix pay system’s implementation. The first year of Phoenix can only be characterized as an abject failure. It has meant prolonged anxiety and pay problems for federal public service professionals across the country.
2 March 2017

Blowing the Whistle on Canada’s Whistleblower Law

Last week I had the opportunity to appear as a witness at the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, commonly referred to as whistleblower legislation.
22 February 2017
Announcement

Posters to mark the first anniversary of Phoenix’s implementation

Can you believe it? Friday Feb 24 marks the first anniversary of Phoenix’s implementation. A year of anxiety and problems for public service professionals and the government.
21 February 2017
RCMP

Open letter to Civilian Members at the RCMP: we are better together

Our members look forward to welcoming you into our community of dedicated professionals who serve Canadians every day. We believe we will be stronger together.