With the deadline for Canadians to file their taxes just days away, some accountants are worried that the public servants’ strike could cause low-income taxpayers to miss out on filing and securing access to the benefits they rely on.
The strike of more than 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency employees has made it much more difficult to reach out to government experts, with some services suspended and others seeing prolonged delays.
“People don’t have three or four hours in their day to sit there and wait on the CRA to answer their phone calls,” said Eric Saumure, a chartered accountant with Zenbooks.
“The CRA does have a mandate to help Canadians file their taxes appropriately, and the CRA agents just aren’t there to help.”
Saumure was “absolutely surprised” when Minister of Revenue Diane Lebouthillier announced last week that the tax deadline will not change because of the strike, especially since the CRA was able to extend such allowances at the start of the pandemic.
“There’s gonna be penalties. There’s gonna be interest. Canadians just don’t have the money for additional penalties. They barely have enough to pay the taxes that that the government is putting in place.”
There are about 39,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers on strike. Of them, 1,400 have been deemed essential workers. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
‘Agents aren’t there to support them’
Saumure channelled that frustration into a petition that urges the government to extend its deadline to June 15, when those who are self-employed are required to file their returns.
By late Monday, it was nearing 25,000 signatures.
“This is really blowing up,” he said, pointing to complications with CERB repayments and new tax credits that some people might need clarification on. “And the agents aren’t there to support them.”
Marc d’Orgeville, the executive director of Ottawa’s EBO Financial Education Centre, supports the petition’s goal, but he wants more: an assurance that people who do not file their taxes on time will continue to have access to crucial benefits.
“Benefits are set for the year and they start in July based on the taxes you’re going to file now for the previous year,” he explained. “One aspect, which is critical for low income Canadians is to file taxes to get their benefits.”
The Canada Revenue Agency is encouraging Canadians to file their taxes online so they can be processed automatically, but those who work with people living on a low income say that can be a challenge. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Benefits can make up half a person’s income
The government agency has encouraged people to file online, so their returns can be processed automatically. But Saumure and d’Orgeville said that’s not easy for everyone.
“For lots of vulnerable and low-income Canadian, they don’t have the skills or they have a locked account with CRA and they cannot get that information and they would not be able to file taxes without that,” d’Orgeville said.
His organization runs a tax clinic to help people in this situation. Appointments from now to deadline day are full, but clients can still book one for a late filing.
“If you file in May, you’re probably OK to get your benefit on time in July. If you file in June, you’re probably too late. So we’re going to try to to submit as many taxes as possible for people who need our help.”
While it may not be time to panic just yet, d’Orgeville underscored that this situation is stressful.
“It can be 50 per cent of their income which disappears in July, if you take a family with four children working or on social assistance,” he said. “If you take a senior who’s receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement, this can also be 50 per cent.”
Marc Brière from the Union of Taxation Employees says members want to help those filing their taxes, but they can’t continue to work without a contract. (Julie Ireton/CBC)
Union also pushing for deadline extension
Marc Brière, the national president of the Union of Taxation Employees — which is a subcomponent of PSAC and represents the CRA workers on strike — said he understands the situation is frustrating for people, and wants the Canada Revenue Agency to resolve the issue.
“I don’t understand the minister’s and the government’s decision to not postpone the filing season,” he said. “I just don’t get it. I think they will have to.”
He also said workers would much rather be on the phone lines than the picket lines, especially at a time when the CRA typically gets around 1,000,000 calls a week.
But he said timing the strike in this way allows the union “to apply pressure.”
“I’m asking you, if we would not be in that position, would the government care or would we still be without a contract for the next two to three years?”
CRA spokesperson Adam Blondin responded to the filing concerns in a statement which reiterated the government’s intention to keep the current deadline in place.
“The CRA encourages Canadians to file on time in order to continue to receive the benefits and credits they are entitled to and to avoid late filing penalties,” he wrote. “However, when circumstances beyond a Canadian’s control prevent them from meeting their tax obligations, the CRA may grant relief from penalty or interest.”
The promise of a case-by-case review will provide little comfort to worried taxpayers, Saumure said.
“I think that’s a default answer,” he explained. “We don’t suspect that every Canadian will be eligible.”
All in a Day9:39The deadline to file your taxes is almost here
An Ottawa tax accountant is asking that it be pushed to a later date as many CRA employees are on picket lines.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
