The Canada Revenue Agency says it is hiring more staff at its call centres and expanding its use of artificial intelligence as part of a 100-day plan to improve services.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day timeline for the CRA to fix call centre delays.
The CRA says it is taking “immediate and decisive” action to improve services by Dec. 11, including increasing the number of staff in its call centres.
The agency says it is answering millions of calls, but demand across the country exceeds its capacity.
The CRA says it is also extending the hours its online chat service is available and increasing the number of questions its artificial intelligence chatbot can answer.
It says it is implementing a plan to reduce the backlog of tax adjustments and is piloting a new call-scheduling system, a measure recommended by the taxpayers’ ombudsperson.
— With files from Craig Lord