CRA in Brief
The CRA's mission is to promote compliance with Canada's tax legislation through communication, quality service, and responsible enforcement, thereby contributing to the economic and social well-being of Canadians.
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The effects of and opportunities for sustainable development are woven throughout all of the CRA's internal operations and services to the public. The CRA has responsibilities as an employer, an administrator of federal laws and provincial and territorial agreements, a partner, a facilitator, and as a consumer of goods and services.
| Balanced
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To achieve sustainable operations and service delivery, the CRA must understand how its everyday decisions affect finances (economy), people (society), and natural resources (environment). For example, by making a decision to ensure proper maintenance of its vehicle fleet, the CRA can achieve the following sustainable development benefits: economic-minimize the cost of health claims and sick days taken by employees affected by air emissions; social-minimize air emissions which cause allergies and asthma affecting human health; and environment-conserve the use of fossil fuels (e.g., gasoline). A truly sustainable business decision will find an even balance among the three pillars of sustainable development.
The following table shows sustainable development opportunities for the CRA, based on their most prominent pillar-economic, social or environmental.
CRA Sustainable Development Opportunities
| Economic |
Social |
Environmental |
| Promote voluntary tax compliance to collect revenue annually on behalf of provinces, territories, and First Nations. Pursue a procurement process that is both financially and environmentally responsible. Increase outreach, expand electronic services, and improve accuracy when working with Canada's small and medium size businesses, so they can continue to make a significant contribution to Canada's gross domestic product, paid employment, and new job creation. Improve working relationships with Canada's large businesses, so they can continue to make a valuable contribution to the Canadian economy, global wealth, innovation, and competition across national boundaries. Share tax and benefits knowledge and technology with international partners and developing nations, to assist them in their own economic stability. Work with other government departments and agencies on joint program delivery, which contributes to shared-federal objectives. |
Provide a healthy and productive work environment, and offer training and development programs for employees. Administer benefits and credit payments to ensure that low and moderate-income families receive their rightful share of income-based benefits. Co-ordinate the Fairness Initiative to ensure fairness and client rights are satisfied. Assist Canadians in meeting their tax obligations by providing improved access to information on the CRA's Web site, call centres, and volunteer tax-filing assistance. Improve our services and cooperation with the voluntary sector, as they are an important contributor to the social fabric of Canadian communities. |
Enable employees to reduce the amount of solid waste (e.g., paper) generated at work, to conserve resources and minimize waste sent to landfill sites. Reduce the use of paper in the delivery of our programs to the public, to conserve Canadian and global forests. Improve energy efficiency in our buildings and ensure proper maintenance of our vehicle fleet to conserve our use of fossil fuels (e.g., gasoline, natural gas, oil). Reduce the amount of greenhouse gas and other air emissions released from our vehicle fleet and employee travel to help improve air quality and reduce the effects of climate change. As a major consumer of goods and services, reduce consumption through reuse, reduction, and recycling measures. |
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