This morning, following this week's announcement by the Carney government, through the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, François-Philippe Champagne, to impose budget cuts of 15% on federal departments and agencies, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) informed all its employees that it alone will have to reduce spending by $715 millions by the 2028-2029 fiscal year.
With this latest announcement, we are facing a situation that is simply alarming and unacceptable. Last year alone, nearly 7,000 CRA employees lost their jobs, many of them members of our union. This has had a major impact on the quality of service offered to the public and to businesses. For example, waiting times to process requests for tax return adjustments or notices of objection to an assessment have soared, often exceeding 12 months.
The situation is particularly alarming in call centres. Our members, customer service agents, are dedicated and do their utmost to answer questions from businesses and individuals, whether it's about their taxes, benefits, or any other matter. However, they're simply too busy, and there aren't enough of them to keep up with demand. Now imagine what it will be like with a further 15% cut in the budget! It's unimaginable!
“If Prime Minister Carney goes ahead with these additional cuts, the situation at the CRA will become nothing short of catastrophic,” says Marc Brière, UTE National President. “Our union is deeply concerned about the impact on services, but also for the health and safety of our members, particularly their mental health.”
During the election campaign, Prime Minister Carney promised to cap the size of the federal public service and that “there will be no job cuts in the public service”. Yet the 15% budget cuts announced this week certainly feel like an austerity measure.
“Unless there is a change of strategy, it is absolutely impossible to cut 15% from the CRA's operating budget without making massive job cuts and seriously affecting the services offered to the public and businesses,” declares Marc Brière.
There are already known solutions for generating substantial savings in the Agency's operating expenses, avoiding job cuts and thus maintaining services at an acceptable level. For example, the Agency could reduce its recourse to contracting out, reverse its decision to impose a mandatory return-to-office on its employees, and sell federal buildings. The government could thus save billions of dollars without sacrificing public services.
We call on the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, Mr. Champagne, to reconsider his decision to impose massive cuts on the CRA that will result in thousands of job losses, and to give us the opportunity to discuss with him innovative solutions to maintain public services. We are ready and willing to discuss these issues as soon as possible.
The population and businesses that depend on quality public services and workers deserve better.
The future of our public service is at stake!