| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
The CRA’s contact centres for its individual and business tax enquiries lines were open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., local time. However, the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) found that the CRA’s telephone system was preventing callers from reaching an agent if the contact centre was not open in the time zone associated with the caller’s phone number.
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has formally opened a systemic examination into whether the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) respected taxpayers’ rights in its administration of bare trust filing requirements for the 2023 tax year.
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has opened a systemic examination into issues that could prevent some temporary residents from receiving the Canada child benefit (CCB) in a timely manner.
Temporary residents are legally authorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to enter Canada for temporary purposes, including as a visitor, student, worker, or temporary resident permit holder. Most temporary residents are eligible to receive the CCB in their 19th month of continuous residency in Canada. However, the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) has found issues that could be causing unnecessary interruptions in CCB payments to some temporary residents.
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| statements
Tax season is upon us. This year, the process of filing an income tax and benefit return may feel particularly daunting. After a long period of high inflation following the COVID 19 pandemic, many Canadians are feeling financial strain. In such a stressful economic environment, the last thing anyone needs is a service issue with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| statements
This year at the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO), we are celebrating our 15th anniversary. Since we began operations in 2008, our mission has been to help Canadians who are having service issues with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). We do this by examining complaints and by increasing awareness of their rights, namely under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Although the OTO is very small compared to the CRA, we have accomplished an impressive scale of work for our size.
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
OTTAWA, November 28, 2023 - Today, Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, released his annual report, Upholding Your Rights, which was tabled earlier today in the House of Commons by Ms. Iqra Khalid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. The report provides an overview of the activities of the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, sent a service improvement request to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), asking it to update its processes and its content on Canada.ca to make sure it respects Taxpayer Right 15 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, “You have the right to be represented by a person of your choice.”
| Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson
| news releases
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has sent a service improvement request to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), asking it to update its information for Indigenous Peoples on Canada.ca.
