Two public sector unions have levelled up a campaign against planned cuts at Canada Revenue Agency, warning that longer lineups for service are inevitable. The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) in collaboration with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) launched the second phase of its national campaign, “Canada on Hold” on Wednesday, denouncing cuts at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).The first phase, launched on August 21, focused on the 3,300 jobs eliminated in CRA call centres. The unions say Canadians shared their frustration with endless wait times and inadequate services.The second phase draws attention to a longer pattern of job reductions at CRA, claiming nearly 10,000 jobs have been cut across the agency. The unions say such cuts have caused wait times to skyrocket, plunging “Canada on Hold” and affecting every service: tax return processing, tax credits, estates, audits, and collections.The alleged results include families waiting months for essential benefits, tax returns taking over a year to be corrected, and collections paralyzed. The campaign website reads, “For you Canada.”.“Cuts at the CRA are a disaster for the public,” said Marc Brière, National President of the UTE. “They undermine the essential services Canadians rely on every day. They hurt families, seniors, students, and small businesses—and they are pushing workers to the breaking point.”The unions say more CRA staff means more revenue for the government, that each new collections officer brings in about $3 million annually in recovered taxes, far in excess of their salary.“Proper funding means faster service, fair treatment, and stronger revenues to support hospitals, schools, and infrastructure,” the unions insisted in a press release.A national demonstration will take place on Friday in front of the Prime Minister’s Office at 80 Wellington Street in Ottawa. The demonstration against the cuts will call on the government to hire back CRA workers. The unions claim, “the solution is clear: strengthen the CRA instead of weakening it.”Earlier in September, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne set a 100-day timeline for the CRA to fix call centre delays, despite expected cuts..In 2019, the CRA had a workforce of just under 44,000 employees. The number of employees rose to about 45,019 at the start of the pandemic in 2020. By 2024, staffing increased to approximately 59,155 employees, making it the largest federal agency by personnel. As of July, the workforce had decreased to 52,499 employees.Employment and Social Development Canada is the next most populous department at 39,154 people, followed by National Defence at 29,121. The federal government has 357,965 employees.The Internal Revenue Service of the United States had 100,433 employees in 2024 for a population of 340.1 million people. This ratio is one tax employer per 3,386 people. The current ratio of federal tax employees in Canada is 1 for every 791 residents.Canada ran a deficit of $3.34 billion from April through June this year, according to a fiscal update released in August. DebtClock.ca lists Canada's current accumulated debt in excess of $1.27 trillion, which is $30,399 per capita. This debt grows at $109.8 million per day and almost $4.6 million per hour.
