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

23 December 2019
Parliament

What the Federal Government’s Ministerial Mandate Letters Mean for Our Members

On December 13, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released the mandate letters for his Cabinet. These documents outline his expectations and priorities for his ministers and for the organizations that they lead.
23 December 2019
Employment equity

Productive meeting with Federal Pay Equity Commissioner Karen Jensen

On December 11, 2019, I met with Canada’s first Federal Pay Equity Commissioner, Karen Jensen. She was appointed in September 2019 and is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the new Pay Equity Act.
19 December 2019
Year in Review

2019: A year of results

2019 saw new collective agreements for 14 groups, new scientific integrity policies, Phoenix compensation and progress on the new pay system. Together, we made this all happen.
12 December 2019
Handshake

Post-Election Government Relations off to a Good Start

With the swearing-in of the new federal Cabinet and the election of close to 100 new Members of Parliament, I have been putting together a new government relations plan and building new relationships with elected officials.
20 November 2019
Applause

PIPSC Welcomes the New Federal Cabinet

On November 20, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the composition of his new Cabinet.
18 November 2019
bed bugs

Bed bugs in government offices

As you are certainly aware given the extensive media coverage over the past few days, at time of writing bed bugs have been found in at least 8 government buildings located in the National Capital Region. They have also been reported in federal government buildings in Montreal and Winnipeg. There may be other affected locations across Canada that have yet to be formally identified.