Taxpayers' Ombudsperson asks Canada Revenue Agency to strengthen its online resources to improve taxpayer experience

OTTAWA, ON, April 9, 2026 /CNW/ - The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has requested that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) make improvements to its online resources to help reduce the number of calls to its contact centres.

After reviewing some of the CRA's web pages, our Office has identified areas that could lead to taxpayers calling the CRA when they do not need to. For example, when a taxpayer wants to change their personal information with the CRA, sometimes its web pages give equal emphasis to phone, mail, and digital options and do not adequately outline the benefits of using digital self-service options. They also do not explicitly state that these options are faster and easier to use, nor do they reassure taxpayers that they are safe and secure.

Additionally, the Contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) web page is difficult to navigate. It also does not sufficiently direct taxpayers to self-service options or inform them of their benefits. The CRA should make this page easier to use and more intuitive. It should also promote self-service options first while identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers.

With these changes, taxpayers will be more likely to complete tasks themselves--without the need to call the CRA. In turn, this should ease pressure on contact centre agents and give them more time to speak with callers with more complex issues or who cannot complete their tasks on their own. Additionally, these changes could give the CRA more flexibility to move contact centre agents to areas experiencing backlogs to help reduce delays and improve processing times.

Background information

The role of the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson (OTO) is to help improve the service that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides to taxpayers. It does so by reviewing complaints about the quality of service as well as by identifying and reviewing systemic and emerging issues that can affect more than one person or a part of the population. You can find more information about the complaint process on the Our Complaint Process web page.

The Ombudsperson makes recommendations directly to the Minister of Finance and National Revenue or to the Minister and the Chair of the CRA's Board of Management to address systemic issues and improve the service the CRA provides to taxpayers. We also work to raise awareness of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the OTO's role.

Quotes

"Taxpayers deserve a world-class tax administration that meets their needs in a timely manner. In the wake of the 100-day service improvement plan, the CRA has hired more contact centre agents to help taxpayers, but demand still exceeds capacity. The CRA must make changes with greater urgency and address the root causes of service issues rather than just treat the symptoms. This is the key to long-term success."

Mr. François Boileau, Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

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SOURCE Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson

Media Relations: Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson / Government of Canada, [email protected]