Minutes of the National Union-Management Consultation Committee (NUMCC) Meeting

OPENING REMARKS

The Chairperson and President of the Union Taxation Employees (UTE) welcomed the participants to the first hybrid National Union-Management Consultation Committee (NUMCC) meeting, with UTE participants meeting in person, and Management joining via Zoom. After a land acknowledgement, the National President mentioned he was hoping for meaningful discussions and invited the Commissioner to proceed with his own opening remarks.

The Commissioner stated that the organization is facing many challenges but the pandemic remains the main concern on people’s mind; he stressed the importance to recognize the amount of uncertainty and anxiety associated to it. Although we thought the pandemic would be over by now, he shared his disappointment with the fact that there always seems to be new obstacles around the corner. However, despite having to continuously take down the new barriers coming our way, he said that overall, the Agency is doing well and a lot of actions have been taken to limit the spread of the pandemic. He highlighted the good work performed by the employees as well as their admirable efforts to respect health and safety measures in place.

The Commissioner mentioned that vaccination policy was at the agenda of the meeting and reminded the Committee that it was introduced by the Government of Canada as a priority. He highlighted that the CRA’s vaccination policy is now in effect and he congratulated everyone who contributed and worked on the implementation of the policy. He recognized that there has been some controversy around this new process, not only at CRA but also across the country, but it is something important for the government and so far, a good process is in place. The Commissioner was pleased to share that of all the employees who completed the vaccination attestation, almost 96% of the CRA population is fully vaccinated and he is very happy with this very high participation rate.

The Commissioner noted that as we are entering a new year, we are also commencing a new round of bargaining. He is looking forward to getting back to the table and reiterated his wishes for a speedy, efficient and fair agreement from these discussions.

The Commissioner congratulated the elected and re-elected members of the UTE Executive. On the topic of elections, he highlighted that the Minister of National Revenue was re-elected during the last federal election. On a personal note, he expressed that he was glad Diane Lebouthillier was reappointed for another term as the working relationship with her is good and she clearly understands the role of the Agency and the role of Minister of the Agency.  

The Commissioner congratulated members of senior management who were appointed to new positions. He further congratulated and thanked senior management representatives who retired and those who left the Agency to pursue new challenges with other departments. Despite a lot of movement in the last few months, the Agency remains very strong; a lot of good people left but they were replaced by a lot of good people too and that is attributable to a good succession plan. 

On the matter of the CRA Charitable Campaign, the Commissioner recognized the great efforts from everyone, which contributed to achieving our goal. Despite difficult circumstances, the employees stepped up, the campaign was a success and it happened as a result of good team work and collaboration. Another great achievement this year was the CRA awarded as one of Canada’s top 100 employers for the fifth consecutive year, one of the National Capital Region’s Top employer, as well as one of the Top Employers for Canadians Over 40. The Commissioner expressed that this is a great accomplishment and a tribute to the CRA and its strong reputation as employer of choice and it comes at a time when we strive to not only attract, but also retain new talents in a competitive labour market. He noted that now is a very interesting time to be at the CRA with the many challenges arising from the transformation of the Agency, but also with the pandemic and how we have had to rethink how we are doing things as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Commissioner spoke about the place of telework in the future of work and the challenge of taking into consideration what employees want as well as what is important for the Agency to perform its operations efficiently. There are still many questions that remain unanswered and we need to reflect about office work environment and working remotely but on the topic of return to work, Management has tried to be open and honest in its communication to employees.

The National President extended his congratulations to employees and to everyone who contributed to the success of the charitable campaign. He shared that he was happy the union and its members were recognized for their contribution to the campaign.

He continued by recognizing that since the onset of the pandemic, the situation has been difficult for UTE members as they were caught off guard in March 2020 when the majority of employees were directed to work from home. He mentioned that employees have a very high interest for updates about a potential gradual return to worksites. The National President shared with the Commissioner that he really appreciated the communication he sent to all employees in November 2021, wherein he confirmed that CRA employees working remotely would not be asked to return to worksites in 2021 and current working arrangements in place would not change until at least January 2022. After the majority of employees were sent home, the work life balance changed completely. Although some people prefer working from home, while others would prefer returning to the worksite.

The National President spoke about the mandatory vaccination and added that this is a subject members can become very emotional about. It has brought division and polarization in the ranks of the UTE, and resulted in a lot of work for UTE representatives in the regions. He also shared the he was very proud of the work of the UTE members and part of the success of the Agency depends on them. Under tremendous circumstances, they’ve shown that they were able to meet the expectations not only during the regular tax season, but also all year long with the delivery of emergency programs. He noted that there has been a significant increase in the UTE membership, which now stands at 33 000 members. On that note, he said he was hoping that the Agency would not try to outsource again in the future and he was relieved that the contract with the private firm had not been renewed. He also expressed some concerns with the Union-Management Approach and by some of the actions taken by Management and he asked the Commissioner for a one-on-one meeting to discuss these issues.

The National President congratulated the Commissioner for his five-year term milestone in his role. Furthermore, he highlighted the re-election of the Minister of National Revenue and said he was also happy she was re-appointed for another term.

With the first round of negotiating starting in January 2022, the National President said the UTE Second National Vice-President will elaborate on the topic during the meeting but he wanted to assure everyone that their bargaining team is in preparation mode.

Despite having several informal meetings all year long, the National President reiterated that he was happy with the opportunity for formal discussions with Management at the NUMCC.

Commitment:

Commissioner office to set-up a one-on-one meeting between the National President and the Commissioner.

1. Collective Bargaining

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources Branch (DAC, HRB) stated that the last negotiations between UTE and CRA were arduous, especially in a pandemic context. Although the last UTE collective agreement was signed in November 2020, the agreement expired on October 31, 2021. New challenges and opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have arisen and to that end, it will be important for the parties to work collaboratively and explore enhanced flexibilities in working arrangements for both Management and employees. The DAC, HRB mentioned that we have an opportunity to modernize the collective agreement and to position ourselves for the future of work by equipping employees with the tools required to do their jobs efficiently and effectively, while supporting operational requirements and providing services to Canadians. The first negotiations session is scheduled from January 11 to January 13, 2021 and she expressed that Management is looking forward to the exchange of proposals and to achieve a settlement in a timely manner.

The UTE Second National Vice-President expressed disappointment with the time it took to get an agreement last time around and hopes that the upcoming negotiations will be resolved quickly. He mentioned that the upcoming round of negotiations will be about work-life balance and economic concerns and he clarified that those demands are requested formulated by the members working in the programs areas. The modernization is also of concern for UTE and will be part of the discussions. He asked Management to remember how UTE members stepped up during the COVID-19 outbreak and did the work that was required. Although the first bargaining sessions of January 2022 will be held virtually, the UTE Second National Vice-President hopes the parties will be able to meet in person at some point and indicated that face-to-face interactions are more productive than virtual meetings.

The National President shared the UTE second national Vice-President’s disappointment with the last negotiations and the time it took to get a satisfactory settlement. Productive negotiations in collaboration with the employer is something that is also very important for UTE. The economic cost is high and the inflation doesn’t seem to go away; the National President noted that pay rates increases should be adjusted accordingly so UTE members can be compensated fairly. He gave the example of UTE members who struggle to the point that it is difficult for them to buy transit passes. He reiterated his wish for an expedited resolution and asked the Commissioner to communicate with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) regarding demands that have a financial impact to avoid unnecessary delays.

The Commissioner agreed that an early resolution in the negotiations process is the desired outcome. He recognized the work accomplished by the UTE members during the pandemic and added that the Agency is now victim of its own success and the expectations from the population are not going to go away. He further stressed the importance to come to the bargaining table and share the key priorities so the parties can come to a better understanding of the concerns at stake. In spite of their wish for an early resolution, he noted that there are things that they would like to influence, but they have no control over them. For instance, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and Finance Canada are important players that will be part of the negotiation and may influence the speed of progress of the signature of the contract.

The National President responded that although there are some aspects in the negotiations that are beyond the UTE and Management’s control, he would like to see the parties negotiate seriously and make some progress on the points that are within their control. Even if UTE and Management don’t get to the goal line because of the other players interfering in the negotiation, the National President is of the opinion that if good negotiations are taking place and progress is constant, this would be a big improvement from the last round of negotiations.

2. Workplace of the future

The Assistant Commissioner, Finance and Administration Branch (AC, FAB), stated that the health and safety of Agency employees continue to be a top priority. She added that CRA continues to safeguard and protect employees who must report on-site through the strict application of worksite and building re-entry protocols.

An event-based transition plan developed with input from internal service providers, program branches, regions and national unions was approved on July 28, 2021, and has been communicated to all employees. The first phase of the plan, also called controlled entry, will see a gradual increase in employee presence in Agency worksites for those dealing with paper-based processing, or for those with inadequate work arrangements. This will not be in effect until the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has removed health restrictions. The AC, FAB expressed that with the recent surge of the Omicron variant, the lifting of those measures is unlikely in the near future thereby impacting the transition to phase one. Several factors were considered when determining the positions for which the job duties would warrant in-office presence. Amongst the determining factors, the Agency has identified a number of mandatory and discretionary drivers that warrant on-site presence. The mandatory drivers include payment/paper based activities, security and/or technological requirements, on-site support activities and confidentiality. The drivers that would be considered discretionary include training/learning and on-site collaboration. It is of note that once PHAC restrictions are lifted, the Agency will provide all employees up to two months of notice to plan accordingly should they be returning to a worksite. The second and third phases of the plan, also called “graduated and unrestricted phases”, will see further increases in employee return to worksites based on additional factors such as building readiness and increased bandwidth. At the organizational level, the Agency will continue to balance the need to efficiently deliver tax and benefit programs with employee preferences.

The AC, FAB, advised that the current focus is on preparing for phase one, including preparedness of worksites to accommodate returning employees. Work is underway to ensure OHS and Building Emergency and Evacuation Teams requirements are in place in preparation for when more employees return to the worksite.

The AC, FAB reiterated CRA’s commitment to continuing having meaningful consultations with the various stakeholders and will continue to work with UTE and involve them in the key steps in the development of our future workplace.

The UTE First National Vice-President mentioned that during the consultation meeting held on November 13, 2021, Management shared the deck Workplace of the Future- Transition plan with UTE. The union was advised that changes could be made to the deck following its presentation at the Corporate Management Committee meeting that was scheduled on November 16, 2021. The UTE First National Vice-President asked the AC FAB for a copy of the revised deck with updates made following the November 16, 2021 meeting. 

The AC, FAB, responded that no substantial changes were made to the original presentation as it was all preparedness. She agreed and committed to share the revised deck with UTE after the NUMCC meeting.

Commitment:

The AC FAB committed to provide UTE with the updated version of the deck Workplace of the Future- Transition plan with updates made after the CMC meeting of November 16, 2021.

3. Virtual work arrangements and telework

The DAC, HRB stated that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an abrupt, widespread shift to virtual work arrangements for CRA employees; this happened at the same time Canadians were directed to stay home and practice physical distancing. She added that since the outbreak of COVID-19, most of CRA’s employees have been working remotely since access to their designated workplace has been restricted. As mentioned by the AC, FAB, the Agency is preparing for an eventual transition from the pandemic stage towards Phase one of the CRA transition plan. She indicated that over the past year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA developed and updated its various Corporate Policy Instruments and supporting tools related to virtual work arrangements.

The updated Guide on Virtual Work Arrangements (VWA) was launched on April 1, 2021 and more recently, a new Corporate Policy Instrument entitled “Directive on Virtual Work Arrangements” was drafted and shared with key stakeholders, including UTE, for feedback. The Guide on VWA would support the new directive on VWA, which would flow from the overarching Corporate Policy Instrument “Policy on Workplace Management”. The DAC, HRB, clarified that the new Directive will set out the specific high level requirements and associated roles and responsibilities for the different types of virtual work arrangements. She added that updates to the Policy on Workplace Management and to the new Directive on VWA are anticipated for release in April 2022. She expressed confidence that with an overarching Policy, a new Directive and a supporting Guide, the CRA will have a comprehensive corporate policy framework to meet the current and future needs of the workplace once public health restrictions are lifted and voluntary-type virtual work arrangements resume under a hybrid model.

In preparation for an eventual move towards phase one of the CRA Transition plan, the Agency developed and put in place a number of initiatives, which consist of:

• Planned information sessions with key stakeholders;

• The exploration of new ways to make virtual work related information more easily accessible on CRA websites; and developing additional support tools, as needed, based on identified needs.

• A review of the Virtual Work Arrangement Agreement (VWAA) templates is underway to simplify their use for end users.

There continues to be questions for which responses are pending, but the related Corporate Policy Instruments and supporting tools will continue to be updated to include pertinent information when responses become available.

The DAC, HRB reminded everyone that during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees are working remotely ‘’under other circumstances’’ and for this reason, the completion of a virtual work arrangement agreement is not required at this time. She clarified that managers who would like to support telework for a period extending beyond this pandemic would be required to follow the steps outlined in the Telework section of the Guide on Virtual Work Arrangements. The CRA will continue to provide UTE with updates on this topic at the NUMCC as well as during touch-point meetings.

The UTE First National Vice-President expressed concerns with the availability of office furniture, such as chairs and desks, for employees, and said it has been a reoccurring issue since the first time it was raised back in March 2021, during the National Occupational Health and Safety meeting with UTE. He further asked Management to confirm if the Employer provided chairs and desks to all employees who requested that kind of furniture.

The AC, FAB, explained that desks and chairs were provided on a need-only basis, more specifically, in situations where there were possible risks for injuries.

4. Mandatory vaccination

The National President requested an update on the topic of Mandatory vaccination and wanted to share some comments on the subject.

The National President started by saying that the mandatory vaccination item was added to the Agenda of the NUMCC meeting in October 2021, which was before the roll-out of the mandatory vaccination program. There have been numerous discussions between UTE national and the PSAC, the executive council and the employer and he reiterated that their organization is in favour of vaccination and they encourage their members to get vaccinated. The union doesn’t question the value of the vaccine, which has already proven to be an effective defense against COVID-19 infection, but they have concerns with the specific policy that has been rolled out. It is very clear to the union that the TBS did not consult meaningfully with the PSAC when they moved forward with the initiative and left little to no room for the unions to maneuver. During the expedited consultation, the TBS did not consider input and concerns shared by the unions and it is believed that the employer was encouraged to simply follow the new policy, without further consideration. The National President emphasized that placing employees on leave without pay will have a significant impact on these individuals. Concerns were shared by the UTE to the PSAC and the PSAC advised that members who would like to use available recourse to challenge this new policy and the newly introduced administrative measure would have to seek and obtain support from the bargaining agent first to move forward. Clarifications have been sought to determine if the statutory freeze during negotiations could be used to challenge this coercive measure; he clarified that the PSAC advised that they will not submit a statutory freeze complaint, or file policy grievances on this matter. He shared that the UTE will follow the position taken by the PSAC and mentioned that an update from the PSAC was received just before the meeting.

After a review of the existing jurisdiction by the PSAC labour relations experts, the National President advised that the PSAC is now looking at supporting some grievances, including policy grievances amongst other things, but also for teleworkers. In the situation at hand, he said “teleworkers” is in reference to employees who were teleworking before the beginning of the pandemic, and who have no expectations of coming back to the office. This is still at the discussion stage but the UTE Senior Labour Relations Consultant is in communication with the PSAC regarding this new position. Privacy concerns around employees’ personal information has also been raised with the CRA’s management. The questionnaires being used by some managers asking employees information about their attestation status are clearly invasive. They have escalated the matter to PSAC and UTE may consider supporting some policy grievance in situation where the measures adopted are considered exaggerated.  

He pointed out one other thing about the new policy UTE is strongly opposed to. This is the requirement for employees who become ill after receiving their vaccine against COVID-19 to use their own sick leave credits for their absence. There are many specifics that would have to be considered but there will be employees who will consent to get their vaccine because it became a condition of employment and as such, the use of absence for “injury on duty” seems appropriate. He added that there might be situations where UTE will agree to support policy grievance. He emphasized that situations brought to their attention are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and looked into attentively. He reiterated that the introduction of this new policy has affected many employees, and it is not about anti-vaccination supporters, but it brought anxiety to some of their members. It also created a lot of frustration amongst the Management community and for local union representatives who are overwhelmed with this situation.

The Commissioner contended that the situation described by the National President was an accurate representation of what happened, in a sense that the CRA had very little margin to negotiate and maneuver in this government-led initiative. Although it seems like the Employer didn’t take into consideration recommendations formulated by UTE, the Commissioner advised that their input was considered and there were a few changes made, within the limits of the margins they were given. He recognized that UTE had many questions, as Management did, but they had to develop this new policy as efficiently as they could. It was announced and implemented fairly quickly and whether people liked it or not, CRA was not given the choice and was advised that the project had to move forward. He acknowledged that not everyone wants to get vaccinated but there is not much to do but try to navigate in this new situation in a fair and consistent manner. From a system perspective, the project roll-out went well and the communication to employees was good. He understands the National President resentment about how UTE was caught off guard and the difficult environment it created for the Management community in charge of obtaining the vaccination status attestation. He assured that CRA will gather the information and transmit this information to support and help managers the best they could.

The DAC, HRB, thanked the National President for his comments on the topic of mandatory vaccination and recognized that the situation must have placed him in a difficult position in face of the UTE members. She offered the National President to provide an update on where the Agency stands at this point and an overview of the key dates in the roll-out of this project.

She began by stating that on October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced that full COVID-19 vaccination will be a condition of employment for the core federal public service. As mentioned by the Commissioner, the Agency followed this new direction and introduced the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the CRA. The policy and associated CRA Guide for Implementation of the Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing were approved November 8, 2021. The target date for the full implementation of the policy was December 13, 2021.

She reminded everyone that all CRA employees, regardless of tenure or place of work, are now required to attest to their vaccination status as a condition of employment. Thus, CRA will rely on positive attestations and remind employees that providing a false attestation is considered a breach of the Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct. However, where necessary, the CRA may need to validate attestations by asking for proof of vaccination.

CRA has identified four types of attestations: fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, unvaccinated (unwilling) and unvaccinated (unable).

The DAC, HRB specified that unvaccinated and partially vaccinated employees will be required to request an accommodation based either on medical reasons or another of the prohibited grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act. She stated that employees requesting an accommodation will be expected to provide a medical certificate, or a solemn or notarized oath.

For the protection of other employees, partially vaccinated unvaccinated employees with an approved accommodation and who must go to a CRA worksite will be required to submit a mandatory rapid test result three times per week. Further details on the rapid testing and timing for implementation were shared on December 3, 2021 and the communication is now available on the Infozone. The DAC HRB was pleased to report that on December 5, 2021, the CRA was at 99% compliance with the attestation requirement. She reiterated that vaccinations are our best line of defense as it protects us all from COVID-19 and to help bring an end to the pandemic. She commented that when present at a CRA worksite, employees will continue to be required to follow COVID-19 protocols.

The National President highlighted that the briefing session at the attention of Managers has been very informative and useful to give managers the tool they need to handle situations related to the attestation of vaccination. Nonetheless, this is a source of frustration amongst UTE members, especially for Managers who may feel frustrated because this new reality affect their job duties and it also causes division between members of the SP and MG groups. He shared that UTE has been transparent with its members and informed them that for those who file a grievance, they will represent them but using this recourse will not have any short term effect on a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) situation. In a recent article in the Journal de Montréal, it was stated that the Employer would require proof of vaccination, starting in December for unrepresented Managers, and would expend this requirement to all Federal Public Servants in the new year; the National President asked Management to advise if this was a formal direction that CRA will follow.

The Director General, Workplace Relations and Compensation (DG, WRCD) responded that this was an isolated case that occurred in one federal department only. She explained that the CRA policy has a clause providing that the Agency could make verifications but she clarified that this would be done in the form of a random check, and would not be extended to the entire CRA population.

The National President clarified that even if the PSAC doesn’t want to file a privacy complaint, it won’t necessarily prevent UTE to pursue this avenue.

5. Updates on the CRA programs

The union requested an update on the CRA programs and operations for the ABSB, the AERB, the Appeals Branch, the CPB, CVB and the FAB.

Assessment Benefits and Service Branch

The Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefits and Service Branch (AC, ABSB) began by stating that the CRA played a key role in the Government of Canada’s (GoC) COVID-19 response. At this time, the Agency is now shifting towards provided more targeted measures that will provide narrowly targeted support where it is needed. The AC, ABSB agreed to share an overview of the different programs and benefits that were created during and give an update about their status.

The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) ended on October 23, 2021 and will not be extended.

The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) have been extended to provide targeted support that will assist Canadians who continue to require it as a result of COVID-19. Both benefits have been proposed for an extension until May 7, 2022, and for an increase in the number of eligible periods by 2 weeks.

The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB) is the latest program that has been created and if approved by the House of Commons, it would be the 10th benefit program designed and rolled out by the CRA. This new benefit would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers should they be unable to work due to a specific, government imposed local lockdown anytime between October 24, 2021 and May 7, 2022. Eligible lockdowns occurring between October 24, 2021 and the implementation of the CWLB will be handled through retroactive applications.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) ended on October 23, 2021. Businesses have up to 180 days after the period end date to file an application for these programs. Residual work will continue in these programs for the foreseeable future, including work with internal and external partners to identify and address cases of suspected fraud related to COVID-19 emergency measures for businesses. 

The Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) was set to expire on November 20, 2021 but the government has introduced legislation to extend the hiring program until May 7, 2022, with authority for a further extension through regulations until July 2, 2022.

The Agency is currently working to quickly launch the following new business support programs as announced by the government on October 21, 2021: 

• Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP);
• Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP), and the;
• Public Health Lockdown.

The AC, ABSB emphasized that the timelines for implementation of the THRP and HHBRP are incredibly tight and it will be a challenge for the CRA, as service delivery of these benefits will fall on teams that have been stretched thin delivering COVID-19 emergency support measures since March 2020. It is of note that Royal Assent is required prior to CRA starting to administer the newly announced benefits, as well as continuing to administer the existing benefits beyond November 20, 2021. Although there might be delays, CRA is working towards mid-December as a target date for the implementation of the new measures. Management is aware of the strain these additional workloads have placed on employees and they assured that there well-being will continue being a priority. To that extent, Management is working very hard to manage and alleviate, where possible, the pressures on employees and to support them as much as possible.  

The AC, ABSB, provided an update on ABSB’s contact centres, which played in important role in the delivery of COVID-19 related benefits as well as in the prevention of identity theft and fraud. The 2020 T1 filing season has seen a very high call volumes on the Individual Enquiries and Benefits lines. The volume and wait time have improved since the usual season peak for this workload. On the other side, the call volume for the Business enquiries line has been higher than average and continues to be problematic. There has been some improvements after the Branch leveraged some of the capacity from the Individual Enquiries and Benefits line, and also as a result of an increase in staffing levels. The AC, ABSB assured that there will be hiring into the new calendar year to stabilize the contact centre workforce and the overall attrition continues to remain high, in the 20% - 30% range. He is confident about ABSB’s contact centre capacity for the 2021 T1 filing season.

The AC, ABSB spoke about some of the challenges brought by the pandemic with regards to job duties and service delivery in programs that would traditionally take place in an office environment. The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, which provides assistance to taxpayers during the filing season, launched virtual tax clinics in 2020. ABSB will continue to support this initiative for the upcoming filing season and will also continue to offer virtual outreach services, in an effort to increase awareness of entitlements to benefits. In the Fall of 2020, a simplified tax return and Canada child benefit (CCB) form for First Nations individuals with modest and/or tax-exempt incomes was launched. In the Tax Centres, the initial challenges associated with the paper-based workload have mainly been resolved. ABSB is working collaboratively with the regions to resolve the small residual inventory pressures in some of the workloads where the transition to electronic processing has been more problematic. He highlighted the resilience and the great work accomplished in the tax centres, whereas employees have been able to shift on a dime and stood up to assist with the delivery of COVID-19 benefits in various workloads. Their outstanding contribution has helped in the resolution of over 200 000 cases for clients who may have gotten caught between ESDC and CRA processes. While the AC, ABSB is impressed with the remarkable work done with the delivery of COVID-19 benefits, he expressed that it will take a few years before this workload is behind us and he is looking forward to the days when CRA can turn its full focus and energies back to regular tax and benefit administration!

Audit, Evaluation and Risk Branch

The Assistant Commissioner, Audit, Evaluation and Risk Branch (AC, AERB) stated that at the beginning of the pandemic, the AERB had to put several assurance engagements on hold and shifted their focus towards providing advisory support, as well as directly supporting critical services such as call centres. As mentioned by the AC, ABSB, many AERB employees also volunteered to work in the call centres when it was needed.

The AC, AERB clarified that at the beginning of the pandemic, several senior internal auditors, evaluators, and risk analysts were embedded in the development of teams for the new emergency support benefits to ensure risk and control considerations were included in the program designs. Further to this, AERB also developed various tools and resources to support the Agency’s rapid decision making through these trying times. These have been shared across the CRA, with other government departments, and international communities of interest and she is proud that AERB was a pioneer who paved the way. The Branch has since moved back towards performing assurance engagements as its main activities. The planning of assurance engagements has also shifted from an annual cycle to a semi-annual cycle to assess and address risks more efficiently within the current environment.

The AC, AERB further noted that travel was drastically reduced as the result of the pandemic, however, the better use of technology has allowed them to continue to be connected with team members and OPI/OCI branches. Also, the Branch is guided and adhere to policies established by CRA regarding an eventual return to work and with respects to workplace of the future. The AC, AERB said that overall, working from home has been very productive and branch management is open to exploring opportunities to continue working in this fashion after the pandemic.

Appeals Branch

The Assistant Commissioner, Appeals Branch (AC, AB), advised that as an effort to facilitate remote work for the employees of the Branch, significant adjustments have been implemented. These changes consist in:

• Providing equipment to employees such as chairs, laptops, monitors and cellphones;
• The review of the procedures in place for the elimination of wet signatures where it was possible, the scanning of paper files, and the onboarding to eFax for most programs and to the Digital Mailroom for the objections program;
• Security waivers to support the use of cell phones, emails and video-conference to communicate with taxpayers and stakeholders.

With regards to the resumption of Appeals core activities, the AC, AB indicated that the Registry services of the Tax Court of Canada (TCC) resumed at the beginning of summer 2020. This prompted the Litigation Program to re-instate its usual on-site presence in Ottawa to receive the paper Notices of Appeals and other associated court documents sent by the TCC. One of the new initiatives that emerged from the COVID-19 outbreak was the development of a new guidance on travel for court hearings during the pandemic, which has been vetted through UTE.

All Appeals programs have resumed their activities and are currently running at full capacity in the new virtual work environment. There is an exception for employees in Headquarters whose presence on-site is required due to paper-based activities. This is also the reality for employees working at the Intake Centres in the regions, who must work onsite for screening and scanning incoming correspondence.

The AC, AB emphasized that the Objection Programs continues to address benefits files on a priority basis. She advised that intake in the Litigation Program has decreased during the pandemic but things are changing and it is expected to go back to normal levels post-pandemic. As of September 10, 2021 the Tax Court of Canada resumed in-person hearings and Litigation officers attend the sessions remotely or in person.

Compliance and Programs Branch

The Assistant Commissioner, Compliance and Programs Branch (AC, CPB) shared that she has been in this new role for about six weeks only and although there is a lot to learn, she acknowledged being impressed with the work accomplished by the employees. The impact on employees’ workload has not been as important as in other areas and most of the programs started operating again shortly after the pandemic started. The challenges the CPB workforce faced at that time were principally related to finding new ways of working and adopting new routines as part of the transition to working from home and onboarding of government relief programs.

The AC, CPB, underlined that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Branch deployed resources to assist Canadians who may be victims of identity theft; to this date, significant CPB resources continue to be deployed to COVID-19 Emergency Programs. This initiative aligns with the CRA’s People First philosophy and emphases on empathy in service, which was the compliance approach change CPB was moving towards, and this, even before the beginning of the pandemic. 

To meet the demands of this uniquely challenging time, the AC CPB mentioned that together with CVB, their branches continue to refine their approach to compliance so as to maintain trust and foster long-term voluntary compliance and adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout.

The AC, CPB, advised that a risk-based compliance model remains the foundation of the branch.  Nonetheless, she recognizes that enhancing discretion and the use of judgement continues to be a key way for compliance officers to tailor their actions to the specific taxpayer situations and is intended to improve the CRA’s responsiveness to varying taxpayer circumstances – including the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Work on these priorities continues to be detailed in workload specific guidance and HQ regional consultations throughout 2021-22.

She stated that CPB has a long history and good reputation in making sound audit decisions. CPB’s Auditors make decisions every day that contribute to the CRA’s mandate and have direct impacts on Canadians. The current environment increases expectations on auditors both in the larger, wealthier space where taxpayers are more complex, litigious, and engaged in more sophisticated tax planning, and in the smaller and medium taxpayers’ space where they are more affected by the pandemic. Further to this, the AC, CPB recognizes that in this context, a more collaborative and team approach to compliance activities is necessary and appropriate. Despite ongoing refinements, the overarching compliance objectives remain consistent in helping those who want to comply and target enforcement efforts on those that don’t.

She concluded by saying she was thankful for inheriting a branch with a healthy report card and for its skilled and dedicated employees.

Collections and Verification Branch

The Director General of Technology and Business Intelligence Directorate in the Collection and Verification Branch (DG, TABID-CVB) provided an update on collections and verification programs and operations. The core compliance and collections activities in the Branch resumed in 2020-2021 but the full scope of collection activities had resumed by mid-February of 2021. She highlighted that Emergency Benefit Programs continue to be a priority, along with the strategic resumption of core business activities. She shared that there are employees in the Branch who were dedicated to the Emergency benefits portfolio. Amongst the employees assigned to this portfolio, some have been tasked with the validation of emergency benefits, while others are working on addressing fraud and identity theft files.

The DG, TABID-CV, concluded her remarks by saying that staffing is undergoing in both the Collections and Verification programs, which will uphold the continued resumption of core business activities.

Finance and Administration Branch- Artemis project under Security

The DAC, FAB-Security, acknowledged that since the summer of 2020, the CRA has experienced a number of events deriving from the administration of COVID-19 benefits and services. Canadians were informed that CRA would rapidly disburse considerable sums of money for the emergency benefits and ill-intended actors saw an opportunity to maliciously exploit the CRA’s systems and procedures.

The Account Security Directorate, also known as Artemis, was introduced in 2021 to manage the influx of compromised accounts and provide more coordinated governance for the CRA. In addition to its case management role for compromised business accounts, Artemis collaborates with the CVB to address cases of compromised individual accounts. Artemis also leads working groups with other government departments, shares information with provinces and territories, and performs analytics related to the security of taxpayer accounts.

The DAC, FAB-Security, reminded the National President of the October 15 meeting, where they shared an update with regards to the growing backlog of compromised business accounts that need to be reviewed and where taxpayers will need to be notified. At the time of this meeting, there are over 4,000 business cases in inventory and to address this backlog, Artemis has an urgent need for temporary surge capacity as existing resources are insufficient. Following the October 15 meeting, the FAB senior management team shared a deck which contained information about the responsibilities of the temporary case analysts, as well as clarifications on the groups and levels of certain positions. The DAC, FAB-Security advised that UTE feedback on the job descriptions contributed in determining that the case analyst’s positions will be at the SP05 level while team leader positions will be at the MG03 level.

At the end of November, the Artemis team issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the CVB and CPB field programs to identify temporary resources. Artemis is also working on a more formal staffing approach, which is aiming to provide members with additional rights and recourse options. With the EOI, the team wants to build a temporary surge capacity of 100 additional FTEs, for 6 month assignments, effective January 17, 2022. Positions will be allocated proportionally, based on associated regional resource allocations and level of experience but employees will remain in their substantive position and an internal order number specific to the Artemis project will be used by employees to charge their time to this project.

Although a decrease in the number of COVID-19 related cases is anticipated following the expiry of some COVID-19 relief measures, the Agency will continue to require coordinated action and approaches to account security. All existing resources currently working in the Account Security Directorate are on temporary assignments. The Artemis team, in collaboration with the classification team in HRB, are in the process of validating the classification groups and levels that will exist in the future. This will help define the future organizational structure and stabilize resourcing by staffing long-term positions.

The National President thanked the Assistant Commissioners for their updates and said he particularly appreciated the follow-up and being informed of staffing needs when re-allocating a Branch capacity to another one. He noted that when Management move employees because of staffing needs in special programs, this becomes and issue for backfilling the other positions. Although we are not looking at permanent staffing, the National President asked if Management is looking at staffing these positions.

The Commissioner mentioned that the DAC, FAB-Security would answer this question as it pertains to the Artemis project. However, he wanted to specify that a reasonable approach needs to be considered to deal with the ongoing pressure caused when employees will return to their substantive position. He recognized that employees’ workloads don’t disappear when they move somewhere else to work on projects and situations in the Branches have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. As mentioned before, he said that the Agency is victim or its own success and not only is the workload not diminishing, the Agency also has excess work at this time.

The DAC, FAB-Security, advised that he also hears from employees who are hesitant to leave CPB to work for Artemis, as they would lose their CPB work experience, which would in turn affect their chances of being promoted in the branch of their substantive position. As Artemis is now considering staffing indeterminate positions, he raised additional concerns about the experience that will be required in the application process, and how the experience in the Artemis team will be recognized.

The National President mentioned that the Agency has numerous workloads. He emphasized that there have been situations where CRA employees, more specifically call centre agents, have been asked to temporarily work for other GoC’s departments when there were new programs launched and they could not keep up with their workloads. It does create a challenge when the Agency lets employees work for Immigration, Refugees and citizenship Canada or the Commission for Afghan refugees, however, this is good for UTE’s members and UTE is happy to collaborate with the employer. He said that whenever the Agency requests additional funding and hires more employees, this is positive for UTE members, especially in a context where employees are under a lot of stress and it affects their mental health. He stressed the importance of having good staffing levels to alleviate pressure on UTE members and ensure that areas are not understaffed. For example, the Agency opened the flood gates for emergency programs and verification for fraud, and although it is not clear if there are still existing backlogs, the Agency has now to conduct verifications.

The Commissioner noted that it is interesting to see what is going on at the Agency, from both sides. New workloads were created, employees feel valued but there is chaos and a lot of work associated with the development and building of a new system. He asserted that with the increased fraud, people are upset that our employees take more time to do their work and take the necessary steps to protect taxpayers’ accounts. It is a really interesting, yet stressful time to be at the Agency as we all work together to find the perfect balance of program service delivery efficiency, and at the same ensuring security and integrity of the accounts. He reminded the Committee of the importance to take a plea and to be as flexible as possible in order to solve problems and in the end, recognize that the current situation may not be reflective of what it may be in the future.

The Commissioner said it was a very useful discussion and is glad the speakers could give a sense of what is going on at the Agency and all the different dimensions we have to balance.

6. Service by Design

Due to technological issues during the meeting, it was agreed that management would provide the union with a written update on this topic. However, the Commissioner offered to provide a high level update on Service by Design. He indicated that the Agency did great during the pandemic but part of that good performance is attributable to all that was done before the pandemic. The People First philosophy focused on service delivery to Canadians but also emphasized on how the Agency treats its own people. He also indicated that if employees feel good and are well treated, this should transpire on how they work and they will provide better service to Canadians. He added that a lot of work has been done across the Agency to establish a service culture, where delivering service to Canadians was part of all employees’ jobs. At the end of the process, when people don’t want to comply, we have to rely on enforcement tools but the education approach is preferred to help them complying. In his opinion, non-compliance is, for many Canadians, the result of a misunderstanding of general tax obligations or why the CRA is asking certain things from them. By demystifying the tax system and tax requirements, this will ensure long-term compliance, which is what the Agency is really after. The Commissioner mentioned that the results of the service culture survey have demonstrated that employees really feel that service culture is part of their job. 

During the pandemic, the Agency created websites and it was helpful for people to get their benefits and understand what they need to do to obtain them, which aligns with our client-centric approach. We have to think about what we are doing and view it from the taxpayers’ perspective. 

We have to learn some lessons from the pandemic, for example, we know that working remotely can work. We were forced into it and we learned that it could be done but we will have to find an equilibrium moving forward.

There are external partnerships involved in the improvement of the Service by Design initiative to help design systems that will meet the needs of different taxpayers groups based on their feedback.

The Commissioner reflected on what is the client’s journey when they contact CRA. A more client centric approach will improve Canadians satisfaction and that means they would have the same level of service and consistent advice regardless of what vehicle they use to communicate with the Agency. He expressed that when looking at the level of integration at the Agency, we are working less in silos and there has been significant progress in the collaboration between the different areas which results in improved clients’ experience.

The National President shared concerns about taxpayers complaining that they and not able to get the information they need when contacting the Agency. There are situations where the CRA agents need to use more than one system to obtain the required information in order to respond, which has a significant impact on the client’s experience. He believes that more work needs to be done to break the silos and he reiterated that before the pandemic, he was advocating for the return of in-person counters. It no longer seems realistic to have this option due to the current situation, but for client’s experience, that would translate into a single point of contact to obtain all of the information they need.   

Commitment:

Management to provide a written update to the union. 

Closing remarks

The Commissioner expressed that the discussion has been very constructive. He recognized that there are some difficult issues that have to be worked through, especially as the CRA and UTE are heading into negotiations. The world is changing and Management and the union will have to work together on opposing challenges. The dialogue will be very important moving forward.  He wished everyone a happy holiday season and recognized that it has been a very difficult and stressful year for CRA employees, both professionally and on a personal level and stressed that we need to continue to work together and support each other.

The National President said that he appreciated the frank discussions and the updates from the employer. He encouraged everyone to take the time to rest. He thanked everyone for the exchanges and asked the Commissioner to have his team set-up a meeting with him, at his earliest convenience to discuss important matters.