Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I’m really pleased to be here today. I don’t always get a chance to take part in the meetings of this committee.
Minister, I really appreciate the opportunity to ask you questions. I was also a social worker, but I used to be a banker. I also worked in an accounting office.
From 2002 to 2006, the Canada Revenue Agency gave us a very good service and answered our questions. In Quebec, we are fortunate to be able to compare Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency. It was always said that the Canada Revenue Agency’s services were excellent and that Revenue Quebec’s services were not as good.
I left that job in 2006 to get training as a social worker. A few years later, my colleagues in the accounting office were wondering what had happened, because the situation had completely reversed. The Canada Revenue Agency couldn’t afford to answer questions from professionals or individuals, while Revenu Québec was improving its services.
My colleagues know that the Auditor General’s reports cover a certain period of time. Between 2012 and 2017, there were reports on the Canada Revenue Agency’s call centres. So I fully agree that there were problems with the call centres. We know that positions were eliminated and I have heard anecdotes about that.
You are now working very hard to replace these people. Employees must still have the expertise to answer taxpayers’ questions over the telephone. Is there a catch-up period?