Canada Revenue Agency eliminating nearly 600 term positions by end of 2024

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will be eliminating approximately 600 temporary and contract employees across the country by mid-December.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the agency said it has decided to "release" term employees early, in accordance with the terms of the employment contract. The employees have been given four weeks notice, and the contract date will end by Dec. 13, according to the CRA.

"Throughout the pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) received a large increase in resources to deliver crucial COVID programs," the CRA said in a statement Friday morning.

"As a result of that added capacity, we were then able to help administer a number of new initiatives, such as the Canadian Carbon Rebate and the interim administration of the Canadian Care Dental Plan. As we transition away from pandemic operations, the CRA safeguards responsible use of public funds while providing quality service to Canadians."

"We carefully reviewed our term workforce and decisions were made to reduce term employees where we had the flexibility in program areas to do so. The CRA prioritized maintaining the workforce for the tax-filing season."

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The Canada Revenue Agency says it notified the Union of Taxation Employees and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada about the elimination of positions.

"There is no easy way to share this news, and we recognize that this can cause stress, especially so close to the end of the year," the agency said. "The CRA does not take these decisions lightly. We continue to analyze how to manage our operations within our approved budget while limiting human resources impacts."

The Union of Taxation Employees says the majority of the employees work in Collections, while the rest work in Compliance as Business Auditors and in other programs.

"We strongly oppose these job cuts. Just to give you an idea, a collection officer collects between $1 to $5 million per year, while their salaries range between $65K to $73K/year," Marc Brière, president of the Union of Taxation Employees, said in an email to CTV news Ottawa.

"It doesn't make sense to lose hundreds of millions yearly. It certainly doesn't help to balance the government's books. And it is a real trauma for the affected employees and their families to be let go like that just before the holiday season. In addition, this will have an adverse impact on the rest of the employees in these programs since they will likely be asked to do more with less. The workloads don't go down; they remain the same."

Last week, federal public unions warned the government was "widening the net" to reduce spending, and the plan would result in job cuts.

The Treasury Board Secretariat met with public service unions to discuss the government's "Refocusing Government Spending Initiative."

The 2023 federal budget included a plan to find $15.4 billion in public sector spending reductions over five years, and the 2023 fall fiscal update included a pledge to "extend and expand" efforts to refocus government spending by $345.6 million in 2025-26, and $691 million a year from 2026-27 onward. 

In April, the government announced plans to reduce 5,000 public service jobs through attrition over four years.

"These savings are expected to be drawn from operating budgets and through natural attrition to the greatest extent possible," said a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Anita Anand. "This must be done without impacting programs and services that benefit Canadians and in a way that continues to support a diverse public service workforce."

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, there are 376,772 federal public service workers, up from 357,247 in 2023. A total of 282,152 employees work in the core public administration.