Standing Committee on National Finance (NFFN) - November 19, 2024 - Commissioner's binder

Notice of Meeting

https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/NFFN/noticeofmeeting/657554/44-1

Opening Remarks

OPENING REMARKS for Bob Hamilton, Commissioner, Canada Revenue Agency

Standing Senate Committee on National Finance 

Appearance on several topics involving the Canada Revenue Agency

Ottawa, Ontario

November 19, 2024

Check against delivery. 

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Agency's work regarding several topics that involve the Canada Revenue Agency.

I am joined today by several Assistant Commissioners:  Gillian Pranke (Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch), Marc Lemieux (Collections and Verifications Branch), Sonia Côté (Human Resources Branch and Chief Human Resources Officer), Sophie Galarneau (Public Affairs Branch and Chief Privacy Officer), and Harry Gill (Security Branch and Agency Security Officer).

Let's be clear: the Canada Revenue Agency has zero tolerance for fraud.

The protection of taxpayer information remains one of our highest priorities. To do this, the Agency has a multi-layered system of defences to identify, protect, detect, and respond to threats like fraud, identity theft, and tax schemes.

And we are successful in protecting hundreds of thousands of fraudulent attempts to gain access to personal and business taxpayer accounts.

As fraudsters' tactics evolve, the Agency adapts and remains vigilant in its efforts to stay ahead of them. To do this, we are continually investing in security by improving our technologies, processes and controls to ensure the safety of taxpayer information.

This “zero tolerance” also applies to our employees suspected of misconduct. In June 2023, we launched an internal review process to identify all our employees who inappropriately applied for and received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while employed with us.

As we are approaching completion of our internal review process, here are some results:

• 330 employees who inappropriately received the CERB are no longer with the Agency as a result of this review.
• 185 cases did not result in an end of employment. Of these cases, 40 resulted in other disciplinary actions, such as suspensions. The remaining cases resulted in administrative actions, such as the end of the review as the employee was no longer with the Agency at the time of the review, or they were found to be a victim of identity theft.
• 135 other employees were found to have been eligible for the CERB, and no disciplinary actions were applied as a result of this review. Being a current employee of the Agency does not automatically mean an individual was ineligible for the benefit. The Agency employs individuals with a variety of employment profiles, such as temporary and student contracts; as such, some individuals were eligible to receive the CERB.

The Agency is also committed to combating tax crimes, whether it is tax evasion and tax avoidance, or combating tax schemes of any kind.

That said, in order to preserve the integrity of our tax system, the Agency does not disclose specific information about tax schemes or its surveillance strategies.

This information could compromise our efforts. However, we do thoroughly pursue issues related to potential fraud and have dedicated teams to promptly address these matters when they arise.

I would like to now address the collection issues related to the emergency benefits implemented during the pandemic.

The Agency initiated pre-validation reviews in July 2020 to assess high-risk applications before payment issuance, followed by the commencement of post-payment verification reviews in January 2022.

The Agency adopts a risk-based approach, targeting post-validation efforts on files with the highest likelihood of ineligibility or significant potential recovery amounts. We reviewed around 875,000 recipients of various COVID-19 income support benefits.

In addition to reviews, we blocked approximately 700,000 high-risk individuals from applying, resulting in $378 million in halted direct payments and preventing an estimated $5 billion in future benefits from being issued.

Now, it must be stressed that Agency has a robust collection program that ensures a high level of collection results. To do so however, we are sensitive to the hardship that Canadians may still be facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Agency works with Canadians to resolve any debt they may have by entering into a mutually satisfactory payment agreement, based on their ability to pay.

However, if it is determined that a taxpayer has the ability to pay in full and the debt remains unpaid with no acceptable payment arrangement, the Agency may take legal action to collect the debt.

This includes actions such as offset of future refunds and credits, garnishment of wages or other income sources, or use of any other means under any applicable statutes or laws to collect an amount owing.

Furthermore, offsetting is a standard operating procedure used by the Agency to collect outstanding taxpayer debt. Offsetting involves proactively applying tax refunds and benefit payments — such as the GST/HST credit — to tax and other government debts.

And finally, rest assured that the Agency constantly strives to provide the highest level of service possible to taxpayers. The Agency is providing taxpayers with the tools they need to file their tax returns quickly, simply and securely.

Nevertheless, the Agency is aware of the increased challenges of our contact centres. Many initiatives are already underway to improve our services.

Also note that from September 25 to December 2, 2024, individuals, non-professional representatives, and tax intermediaries have the opportunity to share feedback on their experiences interacting with the Agency’s services through an online questionnaire.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We will be happy to answer your questions.

Supporting Documentation

House of Commons Order Paper Questions Q-1379 & Q-2954

Q-1379 & Q-2954 (PDF, 8 MB) EN/FR

2023–2024 Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Privacy Act

Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Privacy Act

Information Sheet – CRA approach to confirmed privacy breaches

The CRA would like to share our approach to handling confirmed privacy breaches. We manage all privacy breaches in accordance with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) privacy policies.

1. As soon as the CRA discovers or suspects an incident involving potentially compromised information, the incident is immediately contained, in that the individual’s account(s) are locked, preventing the possibility of actions being taken on the account by unauthorized individuals and an extensive review is initiated.
2. When a privacy breach is confirmed, a dedicated privacy breach response team assesses the incident to determine if there is a risk of harm to affected individuals and if the breach must be reported to TBS and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), in accordance with the mandatory reporting requirement in the TBS Policy on Privacy Protection.  
3. The CRA reports all confirmed material privacy breaches to TBS and the OPC. In certain cases, the CRA may also provide the OPC and TBS with early notification of an incident.
   • A material privacy breach is a privacy breach that could reasonably create a real risk of significant harm to an individual. Significant harm includes bodily harm, humiliation, damage to reputation or relationships, loss of employment, business or professional opportunities, financial loss, identity theft, negative effects on credit records and damage to or loss of property.
4. If the CRA determines that a privacy breach creates a risk of harm to an individual, they will be notified, unless circumstances prevent it (for example, no current contact information appears on file). The CRA also protects affected individuals by offering credit protection, when warranted. 
5. Once a breach has been contained and assessed, the CRA identifies and implements appropriate mitigation and prevention measures to reduce the risk that a similar privacy breach will occur.

The CRA has dedicated extensive resources to the identification, containment, investigation, and mitigation of privacy breach incidents, and has implemented robust processes and procedures to ensure that such incidents are managed in accordance with policy requirements and that affected individuals are protected and notified as soon as possible

CRA Statement – CRA has zero tolerance for fraud

CRA has zero tolerance for fraud

News Release - The CRA invites taxpayers to share ideas for service improvements

The CRA invites taxpayers to share ideas for service improvements

ABSB Key Program Volumetrics Placemat

ABSB Key Program Volumetrics Placemat (PDF, 573 KB) EN/FR

CVITP and ITAVP Data

CVITP and ITAVP Data

PACP Progress Report (post-payment verifications for COVID-19 benefit programs) – November 2024 

PACP Progress Report

CRA By the numbers

CRA By the numbers (PowerPoint, 517 KB)

Issue Notes

Overall Statement

Key messages:

• The protection of taxpayer information is of the utmost importance for the CRA. At the CRA, we recognize that the confidence and trust Canadians (both individuals and businesses) place in us is essential. It’s the cornerstone of Canada’s voluntary tax system.
• In today’s increasingly digital world, safeguarding sensitive information against constantly evolving threats is critical for every organization. The CRA works continuously to strengthen our defences and stay ahead. As threat actors adapt their practices, so do we.
• The CRA has built a multi-layered approach to security, with robust systems and tools in place to monitor, detect and investigate potential threats, and respond quickly when they occur.
• This starts with personnel screening, employee training and document handling procedures such as markings and email encryption to make sure sensitive information is handled securely. We perform regular risk assessments and internal audits to ensure that internal processes are secure.
• In addition, the CRA has dedicated teams to address issues related to unauthorized access and breaches of taxpayer information, and performs regular risk assessments and audits to ensure its processes are secure.
• We’ve also increased the number of resources dedicated to combat fraud and the unauthorized access, use, and disclosure of taxpayer information, and we continue to invest in security and enhance our technologies, processes and controls.
• In addition to a strong defense, the CRA has implemented proactive measures to protect the personal information of Canadians. These efforts include:
  • Multi-factor authentication: requiring a one-time passcode every time you access the CRA sign-in services.
  • Revoking at risk CRA user IDs and passwords: routine checks to identify CRA user IDs and passwords that may have been compromised. The CRA revokes the identified CRA user IDs and passwords (protecting their account from bad actors using these credentials) and provides impacted individuals with the information they need to regain access to their account.
  • Mandatory email on file: email notifications when changes have been made to their account, including changes to their address and direct deposit information.
  • Identity Protection Services: A single point of contact for individual taxpayers to resolve identity theft concerns.
• Together, these defensive and offensive measures demonstrate the CRA’s commitment to protecting Canadians’ information and maintaining the integrity of its systems.

Unauthorized use of taxpayer information by a third party (UUTP)

Key messages:

• The rise in fraud and identity theft is a global trend. The CRA, like every other government and private sector organization in the world, faces ongoing and persistent threats. Safeguarding sensitive information against constantly evolving threats is critical for every organization, including the CRA. The protection of taxpayer information remains one of our highest priorities.
• Sophisticated criminal elements are attempting new and innovative approaches to bypass existing security measures to access Canadians’ tax accounts, change direct deposit information, produce fraudulent tax information slips and fill fraudulent returns.
• Information from third party breaches can be collected and combined to allow external threat actors to update direct deposit information via a financial institution, file fraudulent paper returns, update fraudulent tax information slips, or impersonate the taxpayer when calling the CRA in the hope of fraudulently obtaining unwarranted credits or benefits.
• Recognizing our robust security controls, the CRA, like many large organizations, are not immune to privacy breaches, and we recognize the worry and frustration this can cause for those affected.
• We want to reassure Canadians that we are continually enhancing our security measures, technologies, processes and controls to ensure the security of taxpayer information.
• Indeed, the CRA has implemented security measures to protect the personal information of Canadians, including multi-factor authentication throughout CRA login services, and proactively revoking user IDs and passwords that may have been obtained by unauthorized third parties through a variety of external sources.
• We have made strategic investments to proactively detect, report, and address external fraud and the unauthorized use of taxpayer information by a third party (UUTP). These UUTP breaches often involve personal information, in most cases obtained from external sources, used to help bypass existing security measures to access or modify taxpayer information.
• The CRA routinely monitors accounts for suspicious activity to detect, prevent and address potential instances of fraud and identity theft. The CRA combines advanced data analytics and business intelligence gathered from many sources, including law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and leads to support these efforts. We also continue to collaborate with domestic and international partners to inform our strategy and stop breaches from persisting.
• While we do not discuss threats publicly so as not to compromise our security efforts, we do thoroughly pursue potential fraud and have dedicated teams to promptly address these cases when they arise.
• To preserve the integrity of this tax system, we do not release our playbook. Releasing specific information related to our monitoring strategies could jeopardize our efforts.

Total UUTP breaches reported by CRA to the OPC/TBS by FY*
NOT including complex cases (numbers are recorded via individual and BN UUTP PBRs)

Year	# material breaches	# of affected individuals
2020-2021	1	8,127
2021-2022	7	1,874
2022-2023	28	3,696
2023-2024	72	20,866
2024-2025	34,652	34,705
Total	34,760	69,268

Protecting taxpayer accounts

Key messages:

• When we suspect an account is the target of an external threat actor, we take swift and immediate precautionary measures on the taxpayer’s account such as locking it to prevent transactions, conducting in depth reviews, and contacting the individuals.
• If a privacy breach is confirmed, the CRA formally notifies the affected individuals and provides credit protection, where warranted, at no cost to them.
• Taxpayers who are confirmed victims of identity theft are not held responsible for any money paid out to scammers nor penalties or interest related to fraudulent claims.
• The CRA remains dedicated to resolving these incidents.

Reporting privacy breaches

Key messages:

• The CRA reports all material privacy breaches to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC).
• We are committed to full transparency in addressing privacy breaches, including retroactively reporting all confirmed breaches to the OPC, as noted in the OPC’s February 2024 report.
• In our response to the OPC’s report, we committed to becoming fully compliant with TBS policy and retroactively reporting all confirmed privacy breaches to their office which we have now completed. Recognizing these delays in reporting, the CRA’s top priority has always been to directly notify affected individuals and protect their accounts oftentimes as investigations are underway.
• In addition to the mandatory privacy breach reporting requirements to TBS and the OPC, we report on privacy in our annual reports to Parliament on the administration of the Privacy Act.

Delay in reporting identity theft-related privacy breaches

Key messages:

• In 2020 there was a significant increase in the number of identity theft cases and unauthorized use of taxpayer information by a third-party (UUTP) following the announcement of the COVID-19 emergency benefits. Later that year, the CRA also noticed a marked increase in external data breaches and cyber threats as external threat actors attempted to capitalize on a unique and lucrative set of circumstances.
• At that time, the CRA prioritized protecting accounts, improving security and protection measures and contacting affected taxpayers.
• The delays in reporting these breaches from between March 2020 to December 2023 can be attributed the need to develop a reporting process for these types of privacy breaches, as well as external factors beyond the CRA’s control, such as difficulty in contacting taxpayers to confirm the breach and also taking steps to prevent more Canadians from becoming victims.
• The CRA has been involved in ongoing consultations with TBS and the OPC on the reporting of these types of privacy breaches.
• All confirmed UUTPs from this period have now been reported. 

Dollars paid out as a result of identity theft-related fraud

Key messages:

• The CRA can confirm that the following amounts were fraudulently paid out on individual accounts related UUTP. These numbers account for T1 returns and COVID benefits only.
  • 2020: $181M
  • 2021: $5M
  • 2022: $0.4M
  • 2023: $2M
  • 2024: $3M (as of October 4, 2024)
• Given the inherent complexities of this workload and the evolving fraud landscape, it is possible that the previous numbers will change.
• The CRA is working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to recover funds from financial institutions that were issued as a result of UUTPs.

Third Party fraud for 2024 tax season

Key messages:

• To preserve the integrity of the tax system, the CRA does not release specific information related to our monitoring strategies that could jeopardize our efforts. However, we can provide the following general information:
• Taxpayers who claim false expenses, credits or rebates from the government are subject to serious consequences. They are liable not only for corrections to their tax returns and payment of the full amount of tax owing, but also to penalties and interest. They may also face criminal prosecution.
• In general, if a UUTP has been confirmed, the CRA takes necessary actions. This includes contacting the impacted individuals directly to make them aware of the incident, advising them of the measures the CRA is taking to protect their information, and outlining the steps they can take to further protect their account.
• In cases where a privacy breach may result in an immediate risk to the broader Canadian public, the CRA may choose to alert Canadians so that they can protect themselves from possible harm. For instance, in 2020, the CRA issued a general warning about credential stuffing attacks, and strongly encouraged Canadians to avoid reusing passwords. However, the priority is to notify affected individuals.
• The CRA’s continual vigilance combined with reinforcement of  individual cyber hygiene habits creates a strong barrier against those seeking to gain from fraudulent activities.
• The CRA will continue enhancing its security and adapting to evolving threats, while being transparent in our reporting and communication to affected taxpayers.

False T4A slips

Key messages:

• To preserve the integrity of the tax system, the CRA does not release specific information related to our monitoring strategies that could jeopardize our efforts.
• Taxpayers who claim false expenses, credits or rebates from the government are subject to serious consequences. They are liable not only for corrections to their tax returns and payment of the full amount of tax owing, but also to penalties and interest. They may also face criminal prosecution.
• While we do not discuss threats publicly so as not to compromise our security efforts, we do thoroughly pursue issues related to potential fraud and have dedicated teams to promptly address these matters when they arise. 

Fraud-Prevention Measures

Key messages:

• The CRA has zero tolerance for fraud. The vast majority of Canadians are honest, and the CRA has effective systems in place to manage the small percentage of people who submit fraudulent claims. Canada’s tax system is based on voluntary compliance and self-assessment. The confidence and trust that individuals and businesses have in the CRA are the cornerstones of Canada’s tax system.
• The CRA has robust systems and tools in place to identify, protect, detect, and respond to potential threats, and to neutralize threats when necessary.
• The CRA combines advanced data analytics and business intelligence gathered from many sources, including law enforcement agencies and financial institutions, and leads to support these efforts.
• No organization is immune from fraudulent activity. As soon as fraudulent activity is discovered, the CRA acts quickly and uses every tool at its disposal to stop any further fraudulent activity and recover any money fraudulently or illegally obtained.
• The CRA continues to adjust and improve its security measures in response to an ever-evolving threat environment. As scammers adapt their practices, the CRA has adjusted to introduce new measures and controls to address suspicious activity. Dedicated subject matter experts work diligently to counter the activities of threat actors.
• The CRA takes the abuse of Canada’s tax laws seriously and encourages members of the public to contact the CRA’s Leads Program. The CRA Leads Program gives the public the opportunity to come forward and anonymously report suspected cases of non-compliance with the tax laws administered by the CRA.

Has CRA called law enforcement about the privacy breach reported in the media?

Key messages:

• (Redacted)
• However, in order to ensure the integrity of our work and to respect the confidentiality provisions of the Acts we administer, the CRA’s CIP does not comment on investigations that it may or may not be undertaking.

How does CRA work to stop and prosecute fraudsters?

Key messages:

• Since 2020, there has been an increase in the number of identity theft cases and unauthorized use of taxpayer information by a third party.
• As soon as fraudulent activity is discovered within the CRA, the CRA acts quickly and uses every tool at its disposal to stop any further fraudulent activity and recover any money illegally obtained.
• All security incidents are assessed and investigated by the CRA, and where warranted, referred to the CRA’s Criminal Investigations Program (CIP), or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
• The CRA’s CIP investigates significant cases of tax evasion, tax fraud and other serious violations of the tax laws, and these investigations can include privacy breaches and identity-based crimes.
• When tax fraud involves a privacy breach of personal taxpayer information, the matter can be referred to the CRA’s CIP for criminal investigation.
• Where appropriate, the CIP refers cases to the federal prosecutor, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), for possible criminal prosecution.
• In addition to court imposed fines and/or jail sentences, convicted taxpayers have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.
• While we are unable to provide details regarding specific investigations that we may or may not be undertaking, we can highlight two specific cases that have concluded in the courts (NOTE – All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records) :
  1. Mr. Chun Zhu aka Ted Zhu of Calgary, Alberta pleaded guilty on January 29, 2021, in the Alberta Provincial Court, to one count of fraud over $5,000, and one count of obtaining and using another's identity to commit an indictable offense.
     
     The CRA investigation revealed that, as early as March 2018, Zhu started gathering personal information from individuals who applied on fake job postings he set up. Zhu used the information he gathered from these applications to electronically prepare, print out, and file as many as 317 personal tax returns. These returns claimed unwarranted tax refunds totalling more than $760,000 which he attempted to have deposited into bank accounts controlled by himself.
     
     Zhu was sentenced on October 1, 2021 and given an eight month sentence for fraud and six month sentence for using another's identity to commit an indictable offense. These two sentences are to be serviced concurrently, followed by 18 months of probation.
     
  2. The CRA announced that on June 23, 2022, Georgette Young, Angela MacDonald, Nadia Saker, and Lydia Saker, of Nova Scotia were each sentenced in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. On February 24, 2022, the three sisters, their mother (Lydia Saker), and their ten companies were found guilty of ten counts of fraud and ten counts of claiming false GST/HST refunds.
     
     Young was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $1,997,601, MacDonald was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $961,186, Nadia Saker was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $493,620 and Lydia Saker was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $335,099.
     
     A CRA investigation revealed that between January 1, 2011, and July 31, 2015, the four women filed false GST/HST returns reporting over $56 million in sales and requesting over $3.6 million in refunds in an attempt to defraud the CRA. The women fabricated false invoices, some of which included over $16 million in marketing and advertising, $6.4 million in cookbooks and food products, $5.5 million in catering and $3.7 million in children's clothing. During this period, the investigation determined that only five of the ten companies had active bank accounts, and the actual business activity of those five companies was in the range of $60,000.
     
     The four women filed Input Tax Credits (ITCs) creating refunds of $3,628,805. Of the $3,628,805 in fraudulent refunds requested, the four women received $275,960, and an additional $81,399 was allocated to amounts owed to the CRA. When the CRA began to audit the filed returns, the four women doubled down on their fraud by supplying fictitious invoices and amending claims in an attempt to hide the massive scale of their fraud.

Background

• It is important to note that there are various types of privacy breaches that occur across Canada, in both the public and private sectors. There is a difference between instances where the CRA experiences a security breach, and when a privacy breach occurs outside of the CRA, and that information is then used to gain unauthorized access to the CRA’s systems through fraud. For example, when a company and/or organization’s confidential credentials are stolen, these criminals then receive the confidential information that is then used to gain unauthorized access into personal and/or business accounts, where they then change personal and/or corporate information (i.e. bank accounts, email addresses, authorized representatives), submit false returns, and receive false refunds.

How does CRA work with global partners to stop fraudsters ? 

Key messages:

• Countries around the globe are facing a common threat posed by increasingly complex and innovative forms of tax crime. Therefore, the CRA recognizes the importance of strengthening its domestic and international public-private partnerships (PPP).
• For example, the CRA is an active member of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5). The J5 exists to combat tax and other financial crimes that affect the jurisdictions of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. One of the J5’s greatest successes has been the creation of the Global Financial Institutions Partnership (GFIP).
• The GFIP is an international public-private partnerships, seeking to tackle tax fraud and wider associated tax crime by bringing together the J5 Chiefs, and senior leaders in financial crime compliance from major international banks, financial intelligence units, banking representative bodies, and influential senior leaders from wider organizations.
• In the last year, the GFIP has worked together to review and collaborate on various projects, including a typology paper relating to identity theft. The GFIP has helped to strengthen our partnerships both domestically and globally, and closely connected the financial ecosystem of the financial institutions, financial intelligence units and the CRA to thwart further breaches from occurring.
• This ongoing and robust partnership was further solidified when the CRA, as a member of the J5, recently hosted the GFIP Summit in Ottawa, on October 22-23, 2024, and provided even more visibility on key issues, such as identity theft, with our Canadian partners. By continuing to work more closely with the financial sector, the safeguarding of data and funds will be better protected against criminals.
• In addition, in 2019 the CRA joined the International Public Sector Fraud Forum (IPSFF), a group consisting of the Five Eyes countries which coordinates efforts to define, measure, and combat public sector fraud.

CRA's Proactive Approach to Combat Fraud

Key messages:

• The CRA has been upfront with Canadians on the different threat vectors it faces. It has put energy and resources forward to inform Canadians about scams and fraud, and provide information on what they can do to protect themselves.

Web pages:

• The CRA has a dedicated webpage on scams and fraud. It lists the types of scams to watch out for, including identity theft and fraudulent tax returns. It provides Canadians with warning signs of a scam and provides advice. 

Proactive communications:

• Social Media: Between October 1, 2023 to October 31st, 2024, 57 (1 post includes French/English equivalents) posts regarding cyber security were made on the CRA’s social media channels.
• The content includes:
  • Tips to keep accounts safe (updating passwords, creating good passwords, monitoring accounts, clearing cache, keeping information up to date, etc.)
  • Regular revocation notifications with instructions on how to regain access to My Account
  • Security measures the CRA has in place (Multifactor authentication, PINs, etc.)
  • General Cybersecurity awareness (phishing scams, spotting threats on social media)

Tax tips:

• Since January 2020, the CRA has issued 23 tax tips, designed to keep Canadians, media outlets, and stakeholders informed about the CRA’s measures to protect taxpayer information.
• These tips also offer practical steps taxpayers can take to enhance the security of their own information.

Taxology Podcast:

• The upcoming episodes 4 and 5 of the podcast will be addressing scams and fraud episode. It will provide listeners with information and tips on how to protect their personal information and identify potential threats.
• The podcast is expected to launch early in the new year (2025).

Advertising initiatives:

• Escape rooms
  • The escape room is an immersive experience that invites participants to “Spot the scams” as a way of educating them on recognizing common scams involving the Government of Canada name.
  • The escape room launched at the end of March 2024 and ran until end of May 2024 visiting shopping malls in Ottawa, Montreal, Dartmouth, Mississauga, and Burnaby.
  • A second round ran from September to October 2024 in shopping malls in Moncton, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
  • The escape room received positive local media coverage in each market from a variety of media outlets including CTV, CBC, La Presse, Le Journal de Quebec, Global and CityNews. This also included live TV segments on the morning shows in Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Be scam smart:

• Since 2020, the CRA collaborated with other Government of Canada (departments to lead a multimedia advertising campaign – Be Scam Smart.
• The goal of this campaign was to increase awareness of common scams using the CRA or Government of Canada name.
• The media used included television, social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok), web banners on news sites (i.e. CBC and Radio-Canada) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

When and how does the CRA inform Canadians about privacy breaches?

Key messages:

• We understand the importance of transparency. The CRA prioritizes the protection of Canadian's personal information.
• As well, the CRA has demonstrated this transparency by committing to retroactively report all confirmed breaches to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) in its response to the OPC investigation into the 2020 cyber incidents.
• It's important to emphasize that even before a privacy breach is confirmed, the CRA proactively protects taxpayer accounts with suspected suspicious activity.
• After confirming a breach, the CRA contacts the affected individuals directly to make them aware of the incident, advises them of the measures the CRA is taking to protect their information, and outlines the steps they can take to further protect their account.
• In cases where a privacy breach may result in an immediate risk to the broader Canadian public, the CRA may alert Canadians so that they can protect themselves from possible harm.
• Examples of this include:
  • Summer 2020 cyber incidents
  • Locked accounts in February 2021
  • Loss of encrypted CD with details about Yukon residents

Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation

Key messages:

• The CRA acknowledges and welcomes the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into privacy breaches at the CRA and thank them for their important work in serving Canadians.
• The CRA is committed to full transparency in addressing privacy breaches, including retroactively reporting all confirmed breaches to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
• While there can sometimes be delays in this reporting, our priority has always been to notify affected individuals directly and protect their accounts as investigations are underway.

CRA's Transaction Data

Key messages:

Individual tax revenue

• In 2023-2024, the CRA administered over $430B in individual tax revenue.
• The CRA processes over 32 million individual tax returns in a year.
• This represents approximately $1.6B in revenues and 124K transactions per business day.
• Over the last tax season, the CRA issued $43B in payments relating to individual tax returns (19M transactions).

Benefits

• In 2023-2024, the CRA issued close to $55B in benefits (federal and provincial) through close to 214M transactions.

Contact centre planned & ongoing improvement efforts

Key messages:

• The CRA is always looking to provide our best, and most secure services to Canadians, helping people to have the information they need when they need it. This commitment includes making sure people have what they need to file their taxes each year.
• We understand that individuals often look to the CRA for help in understanding their tax and benefits situation, and that long wait times when calling or working with the CRA are frustrating.
• That is why we are continuously working to make calling the CRA a better experience, and to improve self-service options that eliminate the need to call us altogether. Recent improvements include:
  • Extending contact centre hours of service to provide equal service to people in different time zones across Canada. CRA contact centres are now open Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET and 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays.
  • Updating the progress tracker in My Account so you can check the status of your file or processing times for a request for the disability tax credit, taxpayer relief or for a formal dispute.
  • Making it easier to register and use the CRA’s sign-in services through the document verification service, which allows people to use government-issued photo identification to register for digital services such as My Account, My Business Account and Represent a Client and get immediate access to their account.
  • Making live contact centre wait times available online on Canada.ca so you can determine the best time to call. During periods of exceptionally high call demand, live wait times may be taken down temporarily, and you can continue getting help with common questions by visiting Canada.ca/cra-contact.
• Constantly improving our online services helps people find the information they need without having to call us. This makes it easier for people who need to call, whether they prefer to or have a complex situation, to speak to an agent.
• At the CRA, we are committed to continually assessing and improving our services to meet the diverse needs of taxpayers and benefit recipients. By seeking feedback from people, we strive to make our programs and services more streamlined and client-centric, all while safeguarding the privacy and security of personal information and improving overall satisfaction.
• Throughout the fall, the CRA is holding public consultations on service to hear from individuals, non-professional representatives, and tax intermediaries from across the country. From September 25 to December 13, 2024, individuals and non-professional representatives have the opportunity to share feedback on their experiences interacting with CRA services through an online questionnaire.

What is contributing to delays in CRA’s responses to correspondence from Canadian taxpayers?

Key messages:

• The CRA is committed to responding to taxpayers as soon as possible, while ensuring that responses are accurate and carefully written.
• The CRA's responses are customized to individual taxpayers, whose situation require a careful and thorough investigation and analysis.
• Responses take longer to prepare based on the complexity of the correspondence received.
• The CRA aims to deliver the highest level of service possible to taxpayers by continuing to improve its services with the goal of being trusted, fair, and helpful by putting people first.
• The team works diligently every year to respond to the influx of correspondence received during tax season in a timely manner.

Contact centre funding & workforce

Key messages:

• The CRA continuously re-evaluates its contact centres to ensure it finds the right balance between providing Canadians the quality of service they expect, and fiscal responsibility of taxpayer dollars.
• Over the past few years, the number of calls to the CRA has increased and calls tend to be longer than they were prior to the pandemic. From April to June 2024, the CRA call centres received 10.8 million calls.
• Contact centre agents provide assistance on a wide range of topics, which has an impact on the duration of calls and a downstream effect on the wait times to access an agent.
• On days when benefit and credit payments are sent out, it is common for the CRA to experience a temporary increase in call volumes. As a result, contact centre wait times may periodically be higher than normal.
• Budget 2024 provided an additional $336 million over two years to maintain call centre resources and improve efficiency. This funding was used in part to extend a number of employee contracts beyond tax season, to continue to support Canadians and businesses and ensure trained agents continue to be available to assist callers through the CRA's enquiries contact centres.
• The contact centre workforce currently consists of approximately 3500 employees. Budget 2024 will allow the CRA to increase that number by approximately 1100 for the upcoming income tax filing season. This will be done with the focus of rehiring experienced, previously trained agents whenever possible.

Contact centre funding workforce

-	Actuals
	2019/2020	2020/2021	2021/2022	2022/2023	2023/2024	2024/2025 Q1 and Q2
Total Calls Received	24.3M	45.2M	30.5M	23.1M	24.8M	19.9M
Total Agent Accepted Calls – All Lines of Business	10.7M	13.3M	14.1M	14.3M	12.5M	5.1M
Abandoned Calls while waiting for Agent	3.8M	6.9M	4.2M	2.4M	3.7M	4.2M
Automated Service	9.7M	25.0M	12.3M	6.4M	8.7M	10.6M
Average Call Handle Time – All Lines of Business	9:54	11:48	15:48	15:39	16:09	17:19
Average Call Accept Time -All Lines of Business	16:16	25:42	14:19	8:08	15:11	47:58
Service Level – All Lines of Business	43% in 15 minutes	33% in 15 minutes	54% in 15 minutes	71% in 15 minutes	49% in 15 minutes	5% in 15 minutes
Full-time Equivalents (FTEs)	3441	4913	6704	7319	5558	-
Total Program Budget	$197M	$321M	$457M	$481M	$428M	-

Projections for FY 2024/2025:

• Call demand: 25.0M
• Full-time Equivalents (FTEs): 4250
• Total program budget: $329M

Dropped calls

Key messages:

• The CRA is aware that there has been an increase in the number of complaints.
• The Canadian population has grown very quickly, a large number of new programs have been implemented, and there is an increase in security risks. Consequently, there are longer wait times and a number of calls abandoned.
• Current technology only allows a certain number of callers to wait “in line” for an agent. When the line gets too long there is a much higher risk of dropped calls and a poor service experience.
• The CRA is committed to provide the best possible service to Canadians. The CRA will continue to implement its service improvements with the goal to lower call volume and handle time, while enhancing the client experience.
• Dropped or disconnected calls can also occur due to various other reasons including human error, technical issues on the CRA's side, and technical issues on the caller's side.
• In order to reduce the negative impact of dropped calls, the CRA allows its agents the option of phoning an individual back if the call ends before the agent finishes providing the assistance requested.

Incorrect / misleading responses by CRA call centre agents

Key messages:

• The CRA values the quality and accuracy of the responses it provides to Canadians, and understands how important it is to provide clear and helpful information to all taxpayers.
• Contact centre agents receive extensive training to ensure they can provide accurate and helpful responses to taxpayers.
• Additionally, the CRA has quality monitoring programs in place to ensure that its service remains of the highest standard.
• The CRA is committed to consistently improving its service to better meet the needs of Canadians, and that includes providing feedback and/or coaching to agents when necessary, and continuously updating agent procedures so that responses are accurate, clear, and consistent.

Increased call duration

Key messages:

• The focus on call quality and “people-first” coupled with the increased measures for security purposes, increased complexity in the type of call (both technically and emotionally) the CRA receives, and a shift in demographics (immigration, aging population, vulnerable population, etc.) have all contributed to an increase in call lengths.
• The CRA is introducing a number of technological initiatives that will speed up authentication, and help agents find the answers to the caller’s questions faster.
• Starting in February 2025, callers who are registered with MyAccount will be able to receive a code on their phone number to authenticate them rather than answering all of the knowledge based questions which will reduce call time and frustration for the caller.

Hard-to-Reach / Vulnerable Populations

Key messages:

• The Government of Canada prioritizes the unique needs of Canada’s most vulnerable populations, and the CRA is doing its part by ensuring those individuals are able to access tax benefits and credits in an easy and timely manner.
• The CRA has been working with ESDC to identify additional opportunities to improve the services provided to individuals requiring a high level of support to access benefits.
• To this end, CRA and ESDC have established a national working group to:
  • discuss increased collaboration and coordination of outreach activities,
  • streamline programs and services
  • determine gaps and propose solutions and recommendations.
• The CRA has been implementing some of the recommendations, designed to address tax filing challenges faced by vulnerable Canadians:
  • Complement and enhance ESDC’s current mailing activities supporting Canada Learning Bond (CLB) sign-up events by expanding to include information on a wide range of Government of Canada programs and benefits, such as SIN, tax-filing, tax benefits and credits, including the Canada Child Benefit, passport, and Canada Pension Plan / Old Age Security.
  • The phone service referral pilot -– CRA’s Client Assistance Referral and Enquiry Service (CARES) agents and ESDC Outreach Support Centre (OSC) CRA  and ESDC outreach phone agents employees across Canada identify and directly transfer callers any individuals in need of assistance to the other service provider. 
  • Outreach event collaborative space - Create shared master contact lists and calendars of ESDC and CRA outreach events and activities to help promote collaboration (including Canada Learning Bond/Registered Education Savings Plan). 

Improving Outreach to New Canadians

Key messages:

• The Government of Canada prioritizes the unique needs of Canada’s most vulnerable populations, including newcomers,  by ensuring those individuals are able to file their taxes and access the benefits and credits they are entitled to in an easy and timely manner.
• The CRA is taking proactive steps to ensure vulnerable populations, including newcomers to Canada, are aware of, and able to access, the benefits and credits they are entitled to by developing plans and products tailored to their needs.
• In March 2023, the CRA completed comprehensive research and consultation with newcomers and the organizations that support them. Those findings informed the development of a national tax and filing benefit strategy for newcomers which aims to improve tax literacy, create awareness, and support tax filing among this segment of the population.
• In the summer of 2023, the CRA began implementing the initiatives outlined in the strategy, which are designed to address the tax filing challenges faced by newcomers. This work will continue through to 2025.

Outreach to Northern and Indigenous Communities

Key messages:

• The CRA is committed to improving efforts to reach Northern and Indigenous communities by implementing a national Filing and Benefits Strategy for Indigenous Peoples.
• The strategy aims to cultivate trust with these populations, enhance awareness of and access to benefits and credits, and increase cultural competence within the CRA.
• The strategy prioritizes the delivery of tailored outreach and benefit services to Indigenous Peoples, with the goal of increasing tax filing rates and the uptake of benefits and credits that they are entitled to.
• The CRA is using business intelligence tools to identify underserved populations in Northern and Indigenous communities and make data-driven program decisions.
• The CRA continues to build on its partnerships with other federal government departments and agencies with the aim of developing seamless and integrated service experiences for Northern and Indigenous communities.

Automatic Tax Filing

Key messages:

• The Government of Canada is taking concrete actions to support lower-income and vulnerable people.
• The CRA currently offers eligible lower-income and vulnerable individuals a free, easy, and secure automated telephone service to file their taxes called SimpleFile by Phone.
• This service enables individuals to auto-file an income tax and benefit return quickly and easily by answering a series of short questions over the phone.
• In February 2024, the CRA issued more than 1.5M SimpleFile by Phone invitations to eligible lower-income and vulnerable Canadians to file their 2023 income tax and benefit returns.
• The CRA is on track to increase the number of invitations for SimpleFile by Phone to 2M in February 2025.
• Additionally, in July 2024, the CRA expanded its SimpleFile phone, paper and digital options to all provinces and territories as part of a pilot, where over 500,000 invitation letters were sent to lower-income and non-taxable individuals who had either never filed a tax return, or had a gap in their filing history.
• The CRA will be meeting with its advisory group on automatic tax filing in the next few weeks, followed by consultations with stakeholders, community organizations, tax professionals and Canadians on the next phase of Canada’s automatic tax filing plan beyond 2025.

2024 Service Consultations

Key messages:

• CRA's 2024 service consultations officially launched on September 25, 2024.
• The CRA is engaging with individuals, non-professional representatives, and tax intermediaries to hear about their recent service experiences and get feedback on ways the CRA can continue to improve its programs and services via three consultation methods:
  • An online questionnaire is available to the public from September 25 to December 13, 2024.
  • The in-person (8) and virtual (12) consultation sessions, with primarily hard-to-reach populations (youth, seniors, housing insecure and newcomers), started on September 26. By November 20, 2024, the CRA will have visited 5 different cities (Gatineau, Toronto, Whitehorse, Okotoks, Sherbrooke).
  • The virtual sessions (4) with tax intermediaries are currently scheduled between November 21 and December 10, 2024.
• While we cannot comment on the results of the public consultations as they are still ongoing, a full analysis of the results will begin once the consultations conclude on December 13, 2024.
• The "What We Learned" report will be published on Canada.ca in March 2025.

Background:

Questionnaire uptake (November 8, 2024)

Quick facts

• 1800 completed questionnaire
• 53.25% completion rates
• 3380 total responses, including partial responses
• 178 respondents (4.85%) screened out because they don’t meet the screening criteria

Respondents by role

• 79% responded as individuals
• 14% responded as professional tax intermediaries
• 7% responded as non-professional representatives

Regional representation

• Ontario: 683 respondents (35.08%)
• British Columbia: 480 respondents (24.65%)
• Alberta: 377 respondents (19.36%)
• Quebec: 70 respondents (3.60%)

Consultations schedule by locations & client segments

8 in-person sessions – Individuals

• Sept 26 & Nov 20 – Gatineau, QC (Youth, Seniors)
• Oct 2 & 3  - Toronto, ON (Newcomers, Housing insecure/modest income)
• Oct 9 - Whitehorse, YK (Seniors)
• Nov 5 & 6 – Okotoks, AB (newcomers, general population)
• Nov 12 – Sherbrooke, QC (general population)

12 virtual sessions – Individuals

• Oct 7 & 22 - Youth
• Oct 15 & 23 - Seniors
• Oct 16 & 29 - Housing insecure/modest income
• Oct 17 & Nov 19 - General population
• Oct 21 - Non-professional representatives
• Oct 30 - Newcomers
• Nov 13 - Housing insecure/modest income
• Nov 14 - Seniors

4 virtual sessions – Tax intermediaries

• November 21, 2024
• November 28, 2024
• December 5, 2024
• December 10, 2024

COVID-19 Benefits Compliance Measures

Key messages:

• As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada selected an attestation-based approach to enable the rapid delivery of COVID-19 individual benefits to millions of Canadians.
• This meant that individuals self-declared the information they provided when they applied for benefits, understanding that the CRA would verify this information at the time of filing and/or at a later date.
• The Government was clear throughout the pandemic that while there would not be any penalties for those who applied for these benefits in good faith, individuals would have to repay those benefits they were not entitled to.
• In her report in December 2022, the Auditor General recommended that $12.1 billion of COVID-19 benefits payments be investigated further. The CRA has committed to review 875,000 cases and estimates that, once completed, it will have reviewed approximately $17.5 billion in individual benefit payments.
• The CRA is transparent with its compliance work. It provides quarterly progress reports presenting statistics on the number of post-payment verifications conducted for the COVID-19 benefit programs to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (in response to Recommendation 5 of its 2023 Report on Specific Covid-19 Benefits).
• In July 2020, the CRA started to assess high-risk applications before issuing payments. This was followed by post-payment verification reviews starting in January 2022. Compliance efforts are slated to continue until 2025.
• The CRA adopts a risk-based approach, focusing its efforts to review files with the highest likelihood of ineligibility or significant potential recovery amounts.
• The CRA blocked approximately 700,000 high-risk individuals from applying, resulting in $378 million in halted payments and preventing an estimated $5 billion in future benefits from being issued.

COVID-19 Overpayment Debt Repayment 

Key messages:

• The CRA is sensitive to the hardship that Canadians may still be facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The CRA will work with Canadians to resolve any debt they may have by entering into a mutually satisfactory payment agreement, based on their ability to pay.
• Ability to pay is determined by reviewing the taxpayer’s income and expenses.
• In response to the needs of Canadians following the COVID-19 pandemic, payment arrangements have been expanded to allow the repayment of debt over a longer period of time.
• Every taxpayer’s situation is different. The CRA encourages taxpayers who find themselves owing money to contact the CRA at their earliest opportunity to discuss their situation and the options available to them. 
• As of September 30, 2024, over $2.4 billion of COVID-19 overpayment debts has been recovered ($2,483,169,688). The CRA will continue its efforts to recover the current balance of $9.18 billion as of September 2024.

COVID-19 Offsets

Key messages:

• Since the commencement of recovery efforts, the CRA has been committed to ensuring that our approach to recovery is flexible, rooted in empathy, and responsive to the situations Canadians face and does not create undue hardship.
• The practice of applying tax refunds and certain benefit payments (like the GST/HST credit) against existing tax and government debt is a standard practice of the CRA to collect outstanding taxpayer balances.
• Following this standard practice, the CRA has been applying personal income tax refunds to recover outstanding debt from COVID-19 benefits since October 2022, and other credits, such as the GST/HST credit, since February 2023.
• These efforts are aligned with the recommendations made by the Auditor General in the report titled; Report 10 - Specific COVID-19 Benefit.
• If the use of a tax refund or benefit and credit payment towards an individual’s debt results in significant financial hardship, individuals should contact the CRA immediately to discuss their options - even if they already have a payment plan in place.
• Similar to the COVID-19 benefit programs for individuals, business credits are used to offset COVID-19 wage and rent subsidy debts.

CERB Employee Fraud [CRA employees who inappropriately received CERB]

Key messages:

• In June 2023, the CRA launched an internal review process to identify all CRA employees who inappropriately applied for and received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while employed with the CRA.
• Approximately 600 employees were identified for further investigation.
• As we are approaching completion of our internal review process, we are providing a final update:
  • 330 employees who inappropriately received the CERB are no longer with the CRA as a result of this review.
  • 185 cases did not result in an end of employment. Of these cases, 40 resulted in other disciplinary actions, such as suspensions. The remaining cases resulted in administrative actions, such as end of review as the employee was no longer with the CRA at the time of the review, or they were found to be a victim of identity theft.
  • 135 other employees were found to have been eligible for the CERB, and no disciplinary actions were applied as a result of this review. Being a current employee of the CRA does not automatically mean an individual was ineligible for the benefit. The CRA employs individuals with a variety of employment profiles, such as temporary and student contracts; as such, some individuals were eligible to receive the CERB.
• Each review was handled on a case-by-case basis and had its own outcome. In cases where misconduct was found following a review, disciplinary actions taken were relative to the seriousness of the misconduct. As well, any CRA employee who inappropriately applied for and received the CERB is required to repay the amounts if they haven’t already done so.
• While the vast majority of the cases have now been reviewed, there are a very small number of cases, including employees on medical or extended unpaid leave, which will take additional time to complete.
• The confidence and trust that Canadians have in the CRA is of the utmost importance to the CRA. The actions of some should in no way undermine the honesty and integrity of the tens of thousands of CRA employees who work every day in an exemplary manner to serve Canadians.

CRA Spending Review

Key messages:

• The CRA undertakes regular reviews of its financial resources to ensure they are in line with the CRA’s strategic direction and Government of Canada priorities. Making informed decisions and sound investments allow the CRA to successfully deliver our programs, benefits, and services to Canadians.
• Ongoing reviews of government spending are a key part of managing public finances in a prudent and responsible manner. We are focused on balancing current demands with the need to ensure sustainable operations moving forward.
• As the Government of Canada continues its focus on funding key priorities for Canadians, and we transition away from pandemic operations, we must also ensure that resources within the CRA are focused on supporting our key priorities.
• Over the coming months, adjustments and decisions may need to be made that are in the best interest of the CRA’s long-term sustainability. While this may require some difficult choices, we are committed to ensuring our operations remain aligned with both government priorities and fiscal responsibility. We anticipate that these restrictions will be relaxed over time, as our financial position stabilizes.
• As such, on November 7, 2024, the CRA introduced new control measures that will be in place until further notice:
  • Restrictions on certain hiring activities, such as stopping permanent external appointments, permanent promotions, new term appointments for non-critical workloads, new student appointments, student bridging and incoming Interchange agreements;
  • A temporary increase in the HR delegation authority to Assistant Commissioner level;
  • A freeze on non-critical overtime and an increase in the approval level of overtime; and
  • An expectation that employees will take their vacation and compensatory leave during the year, to eliminate the need to cash out unused leave.
• The CRA notified both the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) Audit, Financial and Scientific (AFS) Group of these new measures.
• The CRA is continuing to review its spending, to ensure we are operating efficiently and are able to fulfill our commitments to Canadians. Further measures may be required as we continue this review. All employees will be notified if any further measures are put in place.

CRA Term Employee Contracts

Key messages:

• Throughout the pandemic, the CRA received a large increase in resources to deliver crucial COVID programs. As a result of that added capacity, we were then able to help administer a number of new initiatives, such as the Canadian Carbon Rebate and the interim administration of the Canadian Care Dental Plan. As we transition away from pandemic operations, the CRA safeguards responsible use of public funds while providing quality service to Canadians.
• As a result, the CRA has decided to release approximately 600 term (meaning contract or temporary) employees early across the CRA, in accordance with the terms of employment contracts. The affected term employees have been notified with four weeks notice, regardless of the length of service. The contract end date for these term employees will be December 13, 2024.
• We carefully reviewed our term workforce and decisions were made to reduce term employees where we had the flexibility in program areas to do so. The CRA prioritized maintaining the workforce for the tax filing season.
• The CRA notified both the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Audit, Financial and Scientific (AFS) Group of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) of this decision.
• We recognize that the early end of term notification can surprise many employees and managers. There is no easy way to share this news, and we recognize that this can cause stress especially so close to the end of the year.
• The CRA does not take these decisions lightly. We continue to analyze how to manage our operations within our approved budget while limiting human resources impacts.

Safeguarding Protected Information at CRA

Key messages:

• We do not comment on ongoing investigations so as not to compromise the integrity of those investigations.
• The CRA is fully committed to protecting the integrity of the tax system for the benefit of Canadian taxpayers. This includes safeguarding protected information which would be beneficial to fraudsters. 
• We take seriously our responsibility to prevent any harmful distribution of protected information and we are dedicated to upholding the integrity of the tax system.
• At all times, the CRA is focused on ensuring that all employees adhere to their duty of loyalty and confidentiality to the CRA, the Government of Canada, and all Canadians.
• Like any organization, the CRA makes it clear to employees that only designated spokespersons can speak on behalf of the CRA, a point which was reiterated in a recent memo to employees.
• Employees have several options for expressing concerns they see in the workplace, some of which offer anonymity:
  • To a manager or supervisor;
  • To the CRA’s Internal Affairs Division, which can be done anonymously if by mail or fax;
  • To the CRA Anonymous Reporting Line;
  • To the CRA’s Internal Disclosures Office, which is not anonymous but protects the identity of the employee from being released to any respondent(s) under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act; or
  • Directly to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.

Tax Evasion and Avoidance

Key messages:

• The CRA is actively pursuing individuals and businesses that engage in tax non-compliance or tax fraud in Canada and abroad.
• Those who wilfully choose not to fulfill their tax obligations can face serious consequences including criminal charges, prosecution, court imposed fines, jail time, and a criminal record.
• With enhanced data sources, the CRA is well-positioned to target those wealthy individuals who deliberately push the limits of acceptable tax planning to evade or avoid taxes and side-step reporting obligations.
• With continued budget investments, and a strong international network of tax treaties, it’s now harder than ever to hide money offshore.
• The CRA’s increased collaboration with domestic and international partners ensures that multinationals and participants in the digital economy pay the taxes they owe.
• The CRA continues to use tools such as enhanced business intelligence and advanced data analysis to improve risk assessments, to detect and address the most serious instances of non-compliance.
• The CRA is working diligently with its partners in the Department of Finance Canada, and the Department of Justice Canada, to evaluate and propose new and enhanced tax legislation and policy that will help close tax loopholes used by tax promoters and advisors to help their clients avoid paying the appropriate amount of taxes.

Carousel Tax Fraud

Key messages:

• The CRA remains committed to combatting aggressive GST/HST schemes that circumvent the spirit of Canada's tax laws.
• Carousel schemes involve GST/HST registrants colluding in order to claim unwarranted refunds and intentionally avoid complying with our tax laws.
• To combat this type of abusive non-compliance, our strategies include early detection, prevention, and verification measures, and when appropriate, criminal investigations.
• Previous budget investments in business intelligence, auditors, and data analytics tools will continue to allow the CRA to better target potential areas of non-compliance.
• Building on a strong international network, the CRA's approach is responsive to lessons learned by other countries who face the same challenges.
• Since 2017-2018, more than $1.7 billion has been identified through audits that specifically target carousel schemes and other aggressive GST/HST schemes.
• The confidentiality provisions of the Excise Tax Act prevent the CRA from discussing specific taxpayer information and ongoing audits or litigation.
• The CRA continues to work with partners in Canada and internationally to develop innovative solutions to improve our compliance approaches to address these schemes.

Write-Offs

Key messages:

• The Canada's income tax system is based on self-assessment. Under a self-assessment system, taxpayers are responsible for ensuring the information they report on their tax returns is accurate and complete. We know that most taxpayers file and pay their taxes on time. Over time, the CRA collects almost all tax from those who do not pay voluntarily.
• The CRA has a strong collections program that, through innovation and the use of analytics and technology, assures a strong level of collection results. Over the last 5 years, on average, 96.3% of all total debts resulted in payments, whereas only 3.7% was written off.
• The CRA continues to develop and implement collection strategies to improve its capacity to manage tax debt and avoid new debt from accumulating.
• The CRA works collaboratively with taxpayers to resolve their outstanding tax debts in a mutually satisfactory way. The CRA makes every effort to reach a mutually acceptable payment arrangement based on verified ability to pay.
• Once the CRA has exhausted all avenues of collection, the CRA will deem the debt to be uncollectible, at which point it will be administratively written-off. This could occur in the following cases:
  • Bankruptcy
  • The taxpayer does not have an ability to pay.
    • The taxpayer's current financial situation including assets and income has been reviewed and it has been determined that the taxpayer's situation has no prospects in future collection, or they are insolvent.
    • Collections actions against known sources of income and assets have been completed and exhausted, and in the case of an insolvency, no further payments to creditors are expected.
  • The taxpayer cannot be located in spite of exhaustive efforts to determine the taxpayer's current location and avenues of collection.
  • The collection limitation period has expired and the debt becomes “statute-barred” under the Income Tax Act.
• Write-offs are a normal part of business accounting.
• Unpaid tax debts represent a small portion of the total receivables, and the vast majority of accounts receivable will be collected over time. Total gross receipts for the 2023-2024 fiscal were $791.2B and $4.4B was written off.

NFFN Members

Contents

• Claude Carignan (CPC)
• Éric Forest (ISG)
• Kim Pate (ISG)
• Victor Boudreau (ISG)
• Krista Ross (CSG)
• Jane MacAdam (ISG)
• Rosa Galvez (ISG)
• Tony Loffreda (ISG)
• Elizabeth Marshall (CPC)
• Pierre J. Dalphond (PSG)
• Larry W. Smith (CSG)

Claude Carignan (Chair)

Conservative – Mille Isles (Québec)

Biography

The Honourable Claude Carignan, P.C., was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 27, 2009, and was Leader of the Opposition from November 2015 to March 2017. He sits on the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators, the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, and the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency. Senator Carignan is also a member of the Privy Council.

Before he was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, in August 2013, Claude Carignan was appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada to the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate and was also a member of Cabinet until fall 2015.

As Leader of the Government in the Senate, Claude Carignan was responsible for planning and managing the government’s legislative agenda in the Senate, and sat on several committees, including the Cabinet Committee on Operations, which provided day-to-day coordination of the government’s agenda, issues management, legislation and communications. Prior to that, in May 2011, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government.

As a legislator, Senator Carignan introduced two bills in fall 2016. Bill S-230 (drug-impaired driving) passed unanimously in the Senate on December 15, 2016, but while under consideration by the House of Commons, it did not receive the support of the Liberal government in fall 2017. Also in fall 2016, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-231 (protection of journalistic sources), which passed unanimously in the Senate and the House of Commons. The bill received Royal Assent on October 18, 2017.

In 2010, Claude Carignan joined Dufresne Hébert Comeau Avocats as counsel, while being a Senator. His legal expertise in public law and his experience in the municipal sector continue to serve him well when advising the firm’s clients. In 2017, Senator Carignan was appointed Senior Vice President and Head Corporate Affairs with Réseau Sélection, a leading company in Canada among private actors in the area of retirement complexes.

Claude Carignan also has a longstanding record of social and community engagement. Deeply involved in the community, Claude Carignan has helped promote numerous charitable causes, sat on the boards of several social agencies in his region and created the Fondation Élite Saint-Eustache, which helps support talented young athletes, artists and others in his community.

Claude Carignan also played an active role in several committees and commissions in the Metropolitan Community of Montreal and served as vice-warden of the Regional Council Municipality of Deux-Montagnes. From 2005 to 2009, he was vice-president of both the Conseil inter-municipal de transport des Laurentides and the Association des Conseils intermunicipaux de transport du Québec.

Chair of the Union des municipalités du Québec’s justice and public safety commission, Claude Carignan then became that organization’s second vice-president. He was then appointed president of the Conseil sur les services policiers du Québec in 2008, an advisory body created to advise the Quebec Minister of Public Security on all policing matters. With his public safety expertise, Claude Carignan went on to moderate and chair several seminars and workshops at a number of national conferences and symposia. From 2007 to 2009, he was president of the Centre for Expertise and Research on Infrastructures in Urban Areas, a non-profit organization that grew out of the need to rehabilitate municipal infrastructure efficiently and with acceptable costs.

While practising law, Claude Carignan also taught public and labour law at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law and at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also taught at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP). Mr. Carignan was elected mayor of Saint-Eustache in November 2000 and devoted himself to the harmonious social, economic and environmental development of his city. His nine years as mayor are full of progressive achievements that contributed to a very significant improvement in the quality of life for the city’s residents. He was also active in the key decision-making authorities at the local, regional and provincial levels, where he worked to provide his municipality and region with the tools they needed for development.

Claude Carignan holds a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, and a graduate degree in public law from the Université de Montréal. He has worked as a lawyer since his admission to the Quebec Bar in 1988, specializing in civil litigation, public law, labour relations, and health and social services law. He is coauthor of Loi annotée sur les décrets de convention collective, published by Wilson & Lafleur in 1990.

Éric Forest (Deputy Chair)

Independent – Gulf (Québec)

Biography

Éric Forest has worked for the development of Eastern Quebec for over 40 years. As the Mayor of Rimouski from 2005 to 2016, he has engaged the Rimouski community through a strategic plan that guides the development of a respectful, united community. Under his leadership, Rimouski is now recognized as one of the best cities to live in Canada, with a strong cultural vitality and an economic structure geared to the knowledge economy.

He entered politics at age 27, as a councillor in Pointe-au-Père – and was elected mayor two years later. After spending some time in the business community, as the co-owner and vice-president of a car dealership, he returned to politics in 1994, as a councillor with the City of Rimouski, before becoming mayor. From 1995 to 2005, he was vice-president and director general of the Océanic hockey club, where he set the goal of making the Océanic an instrument for social cohesion for all of Eastern Quebec.

He became the Mayor of Rimouski in 2005, and he chaired the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) for almost four years, from 2010 to 2014, in the context of a major crisis of confidence by citizens toward their municipal elected officials.

His commitment helped to bring together the municipal sector,  through two provincial summits that led to the preparation of a white paper on the future of municipalities. While Chair of the UMQ, he also implemented a social and professional integration project that enabled youth from youth centres to have an enriching work experience within their city’s municipal team. In 2014, he received the Jean-Paul L’Allier Award, which honours a Quebec elected official for outstanding vision, leadership and achievements in urban planning and land use planning. Mr. Forest is also very active in numerous social causes and is particularly committed to encouraging young people and women to become involved in politics, within the scope of his responsibilities with the UMQ and the L’Effet A movement.

Mr. Forest is appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent senator on November 23, 2016. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance as well as a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the Subcommittee on Long Term Vision and Plan, and chairs the Subcommittee on Senate Estimates and Committee Budgets. He is also involved with the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie and the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association.

Kim Pate

Independent – Ontario (Ontario)

Biography

Senator Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent nearly 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.

Senator Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Programme and has completed post graduate work in the area of forensic mental health. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. CAEFS is a federation of local societies who provide services and work in coalition with Aboriginal women, women with mental health issues and other disabling conditions, young women, visible minority and immigrant women, poor women and those isolated and otherwise deprived of potential sources of support. Prior to her work with CAEFS, she worked with youth and men in a number of capacities with the local John Howard Society in Calgary, as well as the national office. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015.

Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself. She also persuaded the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to initiate the Self-Defence Review and appoint the Honourable Madam Justice Lynn Ratushny to review the convictions and sentences of women jailed for using lethal force to defend themselves and/or their children against abusive men. She then worked tirelessly in pursuit of the implementation of the many positive recommendations from both. Senator Pate has been instrumental in building coalitions across the country with other equality-seeking women’s, anti-racism, anti-poverty and human rights groups and organizations; and, in this capacity, has worked with feminist legal scholars, lawyers, other professionals and front-line advocates and activists — from Indigenous communities to transition house and rape crisis centre workers.

Kim Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and six honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University, Nipissing University and Wilfrid Laurier University) and numerous other awards. Her extensive list of publications, national and international speaking engagements and her strategic intervention and advocacy for substantive equality testify to her commitment to broader social, economic and cultural change. She continues to make significant contributions to public education around the issues of women’s inequality and discriminatory treatment within social, economic and criminal justice spheres.

Senator Pate strongly believes that the contributions of women who have experienced marginalization, discrimination and oppression should be recognized and respected and she seeks to credit and empower women. She maintains contact with women in prison through her numerous visits to Canada’s federal prisons and strongly encourages other advocates, scholars, service providers, judges and parliamentarians to ground their efforts in a similar way.

Senator Pate lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

Victor Boudreau

Independent – New Brunswick (New Brunswick)

Biography

Victor Boudreau is a respected leader whose career dedicated to serving the people of New Brunswick spans more than 30 years. For the past year, he has served as Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Shediac, following five years as a vice-president at m5 Marketing and Public Affairs.

Mr. Boudreau started his career in politics and public service with roles including Village Administrator of Cap-Pelé, Researcher and Departmental Chief of Staff in the provincial government, and federal constituency assistant. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in 2004 to represent the riding of Shediac-Beaubassin-Cap-Pelé and, over the years, served as minister of several portfolios, including Finance, Economic Development, the Regional Development Corporation, and Health. He was also a member of the International Association of French-Speaking Parliamentarians and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick.

Over the years, Mr. Boudreau has continued to be involved in his community, volunteering for numerous organizations such as the Beauséjour Family Crisis Resource Centre, the Shediac Hospice, the Shediac Lions Club, and the Cap‑Pelé Chamber of Commerce.

He was also President of the Rotary Club of Shediac and a member of the Louis-J.-Robichaud Foundation’s Chances fundraising campaign, of the Board of Directors of the New Brunswick Medical Education Foundation, of Boreal Centre’s Because We Know Campaign, and of the Board of Directors of the Comfort Life Network. He remains an active member of the Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick.

A proud Acadian, Mr. Boudreau is the recipient of the Louis-J.-Robichaud Medal in recognition of his public and community service. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the Université de Moncton.

Krista Ross

Canadian Senators Group – New Brunswick (New Brunswick)

Biography

Krista Ross was appointed to the Senate of Canada representing New Brunswick on October 31, 2023 and sworn in on November 21, 2023. Ms. Ross is a business and community leader who worked with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce for 20 years (from 1989 to 1997 and from 2011 to 2023). During her time with the organization, Ms. Ross served for 12 years as Chief Executive Officer and for eight years as general manager. In these roles, she was a leading voice supporting Fredericton and New Brunswick’s development as a place of opportunity for individuals, businesses and community organizations.

In addition to her work with the Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Ross was also a private business owner and entrepreneur for many years. Ms. Ross recently served as a commissioner with the Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission for New Brunswick. She also serves on the board of the Fredericton Community Foundation, the University of New Brunswick Business Faculty Advisory Board, and the Ignite Fredericton Seed Board. She is an active supporter of immigration, and she provides mentorship and support to newcomers in Canada.

Ms. Ross has been celebrated for her community involvement and business leadership. She was recently named to the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada’s Council of Excellence, twice named Chamber Executive of the Year in Canada, and named a Top 50 CEO for Atlantic Canada. She is also a recipient of the Advocacy in Action Silver Award from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, she was recognized by the New Brunswick Community College as an Alumna of Distinction; she also received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. She holds a business diploma from the New Brunswick Community College. Ms. Ross and her daughter, Rachel, reside in Fredericton. 

Jane MacAdam

Independent – Prince Edward Island (Prince Edward Island)

Biography

The Honourable Jane MacAdam, FCPA, CA, was appointed to the Senate of Canada in May 2023. Before she was summoned to the Senate, Senator MacAdam served as the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island from 2013 to 2020. Serving Islanders, she was responsible for leading independent audits and examinations that provide objective information, advice and assurance to the Legislative Assembly and promoting accountability and best practices in government operations.

She is a chartered professional accountant with over 40 years of experience in legislative auditing in the Office of the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island. This involved conducting various audits and examinations ranging from financial audits on the Public Accounts of the Province, crown corporations and agencies, as well as performance audits and examinations on a broad range of topics including but not limited to social assistance, health care, education, economic development, and housing programs to broader issues such as governance, performance reporting, lottery and gaming, and climate change.

Throughout her career, she has been a member of various professional organizations, including the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors and several of its committees including strategic matters, governance, and health.

Ms MacAdam has been a longtime member of the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation, a foundation dedicated to advancing public sector performance audit, oversight, and accountability in Canada and abroad. Moreover, in 2022 she completed a three-year volunteer term on the Board of Directors of this Foundation.

In 2022, Ms MacAdam was appointed to the Departmental Audit Committee for Veterans Affairs Canada and served as its Chair prior to her appointment to the Senate.

Ms MacAdam was awarded a Fellow designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Prince Edward Island, in recognition of her exceptional leadership and service to the profession.

Senator McAdam’s dedication reaches beyond her professional background. Over the years, she has volunteered in her community including minor league sports, home and school, local consumers co-operative and her church.

Ms MacAdam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Prince Edward Island and is a member of CPA Prince Edward Island.

She and her husband are longtime residents of the Morell area and have three adult children, Robert, Mitchell and Emily and six grandchildren.

Rosa Galvez

Independent – Bedford (Quebec)

Biography

Rosa Galvez, originally from Peru, is one of Canada’s leading experts in pollution control and its effect on human health. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from McGill University and has been a professor at Université Laval à Québec since 1994, heading the Civil and Water Engineering Department from 2010 to 2016. She specializes in water and soil decontamination, waste management and residues, and environmental impact and risk assessment.

Throughout her career, she has been requested by private, governmental and community organizations to offer expert advice. She has also advised a number of international organizations including on Canada-US and Quebec-Vermont agreements regarding the protection of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. She also conducted an important study on the catastrophic oil spill at Lac-Mégantic. Senator Galvez is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and Engineers Without Borders. Her research has led her around the world to countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, Japan and China.

Senator Galvez was appointed to the Senate on December 6, 2016, representing Québec (Bedford). She lives in Quebec with her partner, Luke, and has three children, Virginie, Lydia and Francisco.

Tony Loffreda

Independent – Shawinigan (Québec)

Biography

Hailing from the Ahuntsic neighbourhood in Montréal, Quebec, Tony Loffreda is a certified public accountant with 35 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry. Mr. Loffreda holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility ranging from senior auditor and Regional Vice-President of Commercial Financial Services at the Royal Bank of Canada, Quebec headquarters, to the position as Vice-Chairman of Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management.

Mr. Loffreda has served on various boards and committees, including the Concordia University Board of Governors, the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montréal, “Montréal International”, the “Fondation communautaire Canadienne-Italienne” and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada. He also previously served as a member of the executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montréal.

He is a leading philanthropist, active in service to many communities, having chaired fundraising activities across the province for various causes such as the Giant Steps School, the Montréal Jewish General Hospital and the Montréal Cancer Institute. He is also a frequent and sought-after speaker on economic and community issues.

Among his many awards and distinctions, he is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and has been awarded the Governor General of Canada Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Merit, the Canadian Senate 150^th Anniversary Medal and the Philhellene of the Year Award by the Hellenic Community of Greater Montréal. He was also inducted as an administrator into the Montréal-Concordia Regional Soccer Hall of Fame.

Elizabeth Marshall

Conservative Party of Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Biography

Elizabeth Marshall was appointed to the Senate of Canada in January of 2010 having previously spent 30 years with the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Since 1979, she occupied a number of positions in the provincial public service, including Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works, and Deputy Minister of Social Services, as well as several senior positions in the Department of Finance.

She was appointed Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992 and served in that position for 10 years. In 2003 she was elected as the Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for the District of Topsail and was re-elected in 2007. She served as Minister of Health and Community Services from 2003-2004.

In 2011, Senator Marshall was appointed as the Government Whip in the Senate, a position she held until November 2015.

She is currently a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, and the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (Math) degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, and has been a Chartered Accountant since 1979.

Senator Marshall has three children and resides in Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador, with her husband.

Pierre J. Dalphond

Progressive Senators Group – De Lorimier (Québec)

Biography

Born in Joliette, Quebec, Senator Dalphond holds a law degree from the University of Montreal and a M. Phil. In Philosophy, Politics and Law from Oxford University, U.K.

He began his professional career in Ottawa (clerk to the Supreme Court of Canada, then legislative advisor to the Privy Council) before moving to Montreal to join a national firm, where he practised corporate and business law.

In 1995, he was appointed a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court. In 2002, he was elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal. He wrote leading judgements on language rights, freedom of association, freedom of speech, treaty rights, separation of powers, class action, sharing of parental responsibilities and abuse of judicial process.

Throughout his career, he has written numerous legal articles, taught in faculties, given talks in Canada and abroad and organized training programs for judges (notably China, Brazil and Rwanda). He has been regularly involved with various social, cultural and political organizations.

In recognition of Senator Dalphond’s contributions, he was made a graduate emeritus of the University of Montreal. He was also awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Academic Medal and was made an honorary member for life of the Young Bar of Montreal.

Larry W. Smith

Canadian Senators Group – Saurel (Québec)

Biography

Larry Smith is a widely-recognized and respected figure in Quebec. He graduated from Bishop’s University with a bachelor of arts in economics in 1972, and a bachelor of civil law degree from McGill University in 1976. He is well-known in Montreal from his days as a fullback with the Montreal Alouettes from 1972 to 1980, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of the same team from 1997 to 2001 and again since 2004. Working tirelessly to promote professional and amateur football, Mr. Smith also served as Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL) prior to his first term as Alouettes’ President.

Outside of football, Mr. Smith has served on a number of civic charitable boards, including as Co-President of the 2001 Montreal Centraide Campaign and on the board of the Canadian Olympic Committee. He also has extensive experience in the business world, including positions with John Labatt, Ltd., and Ogilvie Mills, Ltd., before becoming CFL Commissioner. In addition he served as president and publisher of The Montreal Gazette in 2002 and 2003.

He has received numerous awards over the course of his careers, including the Commissioner’s Award for outstanding service and dedication in promoting and preserving the CFL (2001), the 1994 American Marketing Association-Toronto chapter Marketer of the Year (consumer products) and Sports Personality of the Year at the Quebec Sports Gala (1998). Mr. Smith was inducted into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame on September 30th, 2015 under the category of "Builder for Football".

Mr. Smith resides in Hudson, Quebec, with his wife Leesa. They have three children and two grandchildren.

Senate Question Period – October 29, 2024

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): 

Senator Gold, yesterday Canadians learned that the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, has been massively under-reporting privacy breaches that have paid out millions to scammers. The CRA previously told the Privacy Commissioner that 113 privacy breaches had occurred over the past four years. They now admit the real number is 31,000 — 113 to 31,000 — impacting 62,000 taxpayers. The Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, also admitted it has authorized $190 million in payments connected to these breaches between 2020 and earlier this month. Leader, this is absolutely not worth the cost. When did the NDP-Liberal government learn that the CRA hasn’t been telling Canadians the truth, and is that $190 million gone for good? Can you confirm that I did not previously give you this question?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): 

I can confirm that you have never given me a question in advance, and I would be shocked if you would. That’s not your job. My understanding is that in the current context — and the CBC broke the story — these were breaches not of the CRA, but of H&R Block, if I recall. I’ve been informed that in the event of fraudulent use of personal data, the CRA — the agency — directly contacts the individuals targeted by the fraudsters and carries out close follow-ups to ensure monitoring and security of these accounts. Indeed, the government has been clear that combatting all forms of tax fraud is an important responsibility of the CRA. The CRA is, unfortunately, a prime target for fraud attempts, and the security measures that are put in place are constantly reinforced to counter these attempts. I’ve been informed that processes and procedures are in place to quickly respond and mitigate threats to taxpayer information and taxpayer accounts.

Senator Plett: 

We were all equally surprised that the CBC finally did their job. When the Minister of National Revenue was asked about this yesterday in the other place, she said that the CRA’s systems are solid and robust. How can this incompetent government say that with a straight face? Can you say that with a straight face given what we have learned? Leader, has this fraud been referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for investigation? Yes or no?

Senator Gold: 

I’m not aware of what steps may have been taken or will be taken with regard to the breach that the CBC reported. Again, it’s important for Canadians to understand this was not a breach of the CRA’s security but rather of the tax advising company whose data was, in fact, breached.

Senate Question Period – October 30, 2024

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition):

Senator Gold, yesterday, I asked you about hackers obtaining millions of dollars from the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, through privacy breaches. Today we learned of another scam, Senator Gold. Last summer, a taxpayer falsely changed his T4 slips to claim he was owed $40 million. The CRA started paying him the money. That’s right: It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. The CRA started paying him the money without verifying his new tax return. They only discovered the scam when a bank alerted the CRA that he was getting an unusual $10-million payment. Is that also funny, Senator Simons? If this guy had been less greedy he would have gotten away with it, and the CRA wouldn’t have found other similar scams. Senator Gold, how can you defend the incompetence, the neglect, the lack of a competent government doing —

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate):

Thank you for your question. This also gives me an opportunity to correct something that I said yesterday with regard to this issue. When talking about the other breach, I misspoke. H&R Block was the target of the hacking but not responsible for it. I want to go on record and apologize for my error. With regard to your question, this story is an incredible one. I believe it was the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC, that flagged the issue to the CRA — and good on them, as we would say. Tax fraud is an important responsibility. The CRA does its best, knowing that it’s a prime target for fraud attempts. Indeed, as I’ve mentioned, it is regularly upgrading its defences and looking out for fraud. With regard to any further comments, I really can’t make them —

Senator Plett:

Where is the accountability? You’ve increased the number of employees at the CRA by two thirds since 2016, yet it doesn’t seem like any of them are rooting out fraud. The minister responsible for the CRA is one of the four Trudeau cabinet ministers with one foot out of the door, so she’s certainly not minding the shop. I doubt if anyone is, Senator Gold. Who’s taking care of Canadian taxpayers?

Senator Gold:

The CRA has an enormous responsibility and an enormous job to do. It certainly had an enormous responsibility during the years of the pandemic. Many of these issues, if my understanding of the reporting is correct, had their origins in that area, but, again, it’s taking steps to enhance its security and doing everything it can to protect itself — and, therefore, Canadians — against fraud.

Senate Question Period – November 6, 2024

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition):

Leader, a senior official in the Prime Minister’s own department, the Privy Council Office, told a House committee that he attended two private meetings between NDP and Liberal members of Parliament. They discussed the changes to the Canada Elections Act that they found in Bill C-65 to protect their pensions. When asked if he could provide the committee with documents from those meetings, he said, “My understanding is that the briefing was primarily oral.” No documents, no accountability — not worth the cost. This reminds me of the Canada Revenue Agency claiming it had no documents about a decision regarding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that cost $8 billion. How dumb does this NDP-Liberal government think Canadians are? How dumb do you think Canadians are?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate):

I was wondering if there would be a question in there. I don’t think Canadians are dumb; quite the contrary. I have tremendous respect for Canadians and for all people, certainly those who take the time to be interested in the work we do here in this chamber and in public life, more generally, as well as all those who take the time to inform themselves of the issues that affect their communities and this country. I have no knowledge of those meetings that took place between members of Parliament nor of the subject they discussed. I’m still unclear why you believe this rises to the level of a question, but you have a follow-up, so perhaps you can illuminate me further.

Recent CRA-Specific Senate order Paper Questions

Inquiry of Ministry (PDF, 1.6 MB) (EN/FR)