CRA Expands Call Centre Hours After Concerns Raised Over Blocked Calls

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) headquarters Connaught Building in Ottawa on Aug. 17, 2020. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is extending its contact centre hours after concerns were raised that callers were unable to reach agents.

The request was made by the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) in March after it found callers were not able to reach the centre if the hours conflicted with the time zone they were calling from.

“For example, if someone had moved from Vancouver, BC, to St. John’s, NL, but had kept their Vancouver phone number, they would not have been able to reach a CRA contact centre if they called from St. John’s at 10:30 a.m.,” an Aug. 20 OTO news release said.

“The CRA’s telephone system would have told the caller that the contact centre was not open because it would be 6:00 a.m. in Vancouver.”

The OTO said it asked the CRA to address the concerns and let Canadians know how area codes could prevent them from reaching the centre. It also asked the agency to advise callers on how to reach the centre if the call was being blocked because of the area code.

The CRA should accept all calls to its contact centre despite where the caller is from if agents are available, OTO said.

In response to the request, the CRA extended the hours for its individual and business tax inquiries. Contact centres are now open from Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. Centres are also open on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., the release said.

Previously, the lines were open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Centres were also open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time.

“This change is a win for taxpayers. Not everyone changes their phone number after they move, and this should not limit their access to CRA services. Now taxpayers across Canada have equal access,” Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson François Boileau said in the release.

Boileau said they were aware that contact centres have been unable to answer every call due to the high number of calls they receive.

“The CRA has assured us that it is taking steps to address this issue; we will keep a close eye on the situation to see if there are more opportunities for improvement.”

Northern Residents

The OTO said it noticed that Northern residents were having additional challenges reaching the contact centre.

“The CRA has dedicated phone lines so these callers can speak to an agent equipped to answer questions about tax affairs specific to Northern residents. However, callers cannot reach these lines if they do not have a phone number with an 867 area code,” the news release said.

The organization asked the CRA to allow all territorial residents to call the specific phone service for Northern residents.

The CRA said it did not make this change as it did not want the general public to access the lines.

“Instead, it now informs callers who do not have an 867 area code about why their call is being restricted. The CRA also includes this information on its web page for this service,” the OTO release said.