The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson celebrates 15 years of serving Canadians

OTTAWA, December 13, 2023 – 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.

Under the guidance of the current Ombudsperson, François Boileau, as well as his predecessors, Paul Dubé and Sherra Profit, we have been there for more than 28,000 Canadians who came to us for help when the CRA’s service did not meet their expectations. We have also systematically induced positive change by making 113 recommendations to the Minister of National Revenue about ways the CRA can improve its service and its accountability to Canadians.

All of our work is informed by the experiences of real people facing issues with real consequences. By analyzing the complaints we receive, meeting with organizations that serve vulnerable populations, and participating in outreach activities across Canada, we have been able to gather information about the issues Canadians are experiencing with the CRA. If needed, we can look deeper into an issue by carrying out a systemic examination. These examinations have involved a wide range of topics, most recently the fairness of the audit process for charities.

We are proud of how we have served Canadians over the years, and it is clear that the OTO is needed now more than ever. Over the past few months, our Office has been consistently receiving an increased number of calls and complaints. More and more Canadians are putting their trust in us to help resolve their service issues with the CRA, and we are committed to using our 15 years of experience to help each and every one.