Canada Revenue Agency Learns to Say Sorry
Sorry, eh!
That’s what some taxpayers may hear from the Canada Revenue Agency in the near future. Until now, CRA did not have a policy to issue letters of apology when it was warranted. But now, the agency is creating a policy to do that. Some might say that’s very Canadian!
The policy will apply to taxpayers who did not experience the quality of service they should expect. When CRA is in the wrong, they will use the word “apology”; when they are not, they will use the word “regret”. It’s still not clear which situations will warrant an apology versus an expression of regret. And whether we may see the agency occasionally “regretfully apologize” is still not clear.
The CRA makes mistakes. Of course, everyone makes mistakes. But the Auditor General reported an estimated error rate of 29%! Sorry, but that’s a little higher than what we should expect as a service standard from CRA. We applaud the CRA for taking the right approach to own up to those mistakes when they happen, in order to ensure accountability.
Anyway, if you’re hoping CRA will get it right all the time, you’ll probably be disappointed. But at least now, they will properly acknowledge their mistakes. I wonder if other countries have to have an apology policy, or if that’s just a Canadian thing!
Eric Saumure, CPA, CA, is co-founder and Principal of Zenbooks, an online cloud-native accounting firm started in 2015 to serve 300+ Canadian small and mid-sized businesses. Before Zenbooks, Eric spent 3 years at KPMG. He specializes in financial strategy for growth-stage companies in the $1M-$10M revenue range, with a particular focus on marketing and creative agencies, SaaS, and professional services firms, e-commerce and non-profits.
Eric's commentary on Canadian small business, tax policy, and open banking has appeared in the Toronto Star, Canadian Press, CTV, CBC, Le Devoir, Policy Options, The Conversation, and Canadian Accountant. He was named to the OBJ Ottawa Forty Under 40 and recognized on both the Financial Times Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2026 list and the Globe and Mail's Report on Business Top Growing Companies 2024. He is the principal researcher behind the Zenbooks Technology in Accounting Study, a national survey of 500 Canadian SMEs on accounting technology adoption, and the founder of OpenSME, a Canadian open banking advocacy organization. He serves on the board of Cystic Fibrosis Canada and member of the Montfort Hospital Association.
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