Eric – Filling in the knowledge gaps

When Eric was a kid, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. Today, when he speaks about his job at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), his passion and enthusiasm shine through, even though he still can’t quite explain what he does to his wife.

“I think of myself as a jack of all trades,” he laughs. “While I sometimes feel like I am ‘nobody’, I’ve had such cool experiences – like sitting in the Minister’s boardroom, just seats away from the Minister and industry leaders, talking about upcoming projects. If you had told me in school that I’d be doing this, I wouldn’t have believed it. My career has taken me on an incredible journey of new experiences.”

Eric’s title at the CRA is “Senior Planning Officer,” but his real job is helping people. Eric works in the Communications and External Stakeholder Relations Section (CESRS). CESRS make sure specific groups of taxpayers have the information they need to follow tax rules and file their taxes properly. They find areas where information is needed and provide it through tools like blog posts and brochures. These materials are shared with stakeholders like the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), who then share them with their clients. Eric’s colleagues also support various CRA teams who work with taxpayers, such as Liaison Officers (LO), by providing them with some of the materials they use.

LOs offer free support and guidance to small businesses and self-employed individuals to help them meet their tax obligations. “Education comes first and we look for ways to help in that,” Eric emphasizes. “We want to make it easy for people to find the information they need.”

Eric explains that his role involves planning for various scenarios. “If something hits the media, if we see a lack of knowledge in a certain area, or if there are new laws, we jump in. If our information isn’t good enough or isn’t simple enough, we improve it. We continuously try to ensure that people have the information they need before any issues arise.”

This dedication to providing clear information to taxpayers was especially important during the early days of COVID-19 when Eric volunteered to help at the CRA call centres. “It was really cool,” he recalls. “I worked the phone lines, and it was neat to be working with the public and using my knowledge. I have a lot of respect for those call centre agents.”

Simplifying complex tax information is both a fun and challenging part of Eric’s job. “I can’t make something simple if I don’t understand it myself,” he says. “I work with tax experts and stakeholders, get all the information, and then turn it into something that’s easy to understand. They’ll often send you way too much, so you have to boil it down.”

Eric’s audience is typically small businesses, newly incorporated entities, or those with one or two employees. “We just want people to know what they need to do – and if they do it, they won’t have any trouble. We don’t want to throw the book at people. We help when things are new or when they’re complicated, and we see that people are having trouble understanding.”

Eric’s passion for helping others is evident in everything he does, from educating taxpayers to volunteering during the pandemic. “Curiosity is gold when it comes to living and growing,” he says. “This has been my approach to both life and work. Having a curious mind and taking initiative can lead to great opportunities. At least it has for me!”