This CRA chat was supposed to help; Canadians say it's just another headache
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A new online chat service introduced by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to reduce pressure on its overloaded phone lines is now drawing fresh criticism from taxpayers due to limited staffing and poor accessibility. Launched in October for users logged into their CRA online accounts, the chat service was intended to offer a more efficient and smoother way for Canadians to get help with certain tax questions.However, the CRA has trained fewer than 100 staff to operate the chat, a stark contrast to the 4,000 full-time-equivalent employees it assigns to its call centers.The chat is also only available from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, a narrower service window than CRA phone lines. And unlike many customer service platforms, the chat does not provide an estimated wait time, often leaving users confused when no response comes or when the system simply states that the queue is unavailable.Taxpayers' Ombudsperson François Boileau said his office is hearing frequent complaints about the online chat. 'It's not a surprise for us hearing that taxpayers are having trouble accessing the CRA's online chat service,' he told The Globe and Mail.Currently, the chat tool uses artificial intelligence to answer basic questions, such as how to apply for benefits. More complex inquiries are directed to live agents, but agent availability is limited.If users connect outside business hours or when all agents are busy, they receive a message stating the queue is unavailable, without knowing it is a pilot program with limited staff.Despite growing criticism, the CRA has not publicly indicated that the chat is still in testing. CRA spokesperson Sylvie Branch confirmed that the agency is 'continuing to re-evaluate online chat to find the right balance between this service offering and the telephone lines.'Contact centers, including both traditional call lines and the new chat, have remained the top source of complaints submitted to the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson for the past two fiscal years.Taxpayers also report receiving inaccurate, incomplete, or unclear responses even when they do reach an agent.The ombudsperson had earlier urged the CRA to allow users to request a callback online, similar to a feature already available through Service Canada . However, the CRA has not implemented the change, citing technical limitations.The agency has taken some steps to improve service, including authentication passcodes to speed up call times and AI chatbots to handle simple queries.
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