Ottawa, Ontario, July 10, 2009... As part of his ongoing efforts to ensure that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is more accountable to Canadians, the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture and Agri-Food), today launched MinDirect, a new electronic mail account that will allow Canadians to email the Minister directly.
“As Minister of National Revenue, my focus is on working with taxpayers to help them understand and comply with the tax laws,” said Minister Blackburn. “The MinDirect service adds yet another way for Canadians to communicate with the CRA. I welcome the opportunity to hear first-hand from Canadians and to be able to respond to their feedback.”
Canadians can visit the Minister's page on the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/minister and, by selecting “Contact the Minister,” can use MinDirect to submit their comments to the Minister, who will respond as appropriate. The CRA cautions, however, that, to ensure their privacy and confidentiality, Canadians should not send personal information or information about the tax situation of an individual or a business through the MinDirect service.
Taxpayers who want to discuss a specific tax situation or file a complaint should make use of the existing communication channels, such as the CRA's individual income tax enquiries line (1-800-959-8281), its business and self‑employed individuals enquiries line (1-800-959-5525), the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman (1‑866‑586‑3839), and the CRA's service complaints Web page at www.cra.gc.ca/complaints.
MinDirect is the latest in a series of tax‑related service initiatives introduced by the Government since 2007, including the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the Taxpayers' Ombudsman, and the call centre agent greeting policy, all aimed at improving interactions with taxpayers.
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