Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, fellow members. I am very happy to see all of you again to discuss the sound management of public funds. I also want to acknowledge the people who support us. We are very grateful for the essential work they do for us.
At the beginning of a new parliamentary session, we are all smiling and willing to work together. I hope we maintain that positive attitude over the coming weeks.
There is something that unites us all as parliamentarians, whether on the side of the government, the official opposition, the second opposition party or independent members. In our constituency offices over the past few months, I am sure that each and every one of us has had to answer dozens, if not hundreds, of calls for assistance from taxpayers concerning the Canada Revenue Agency.
We know that the Office of the Auditor General of Canada is expected to table a report on this subject in a few weeks, on October 7, if I'm not mistaken. I think we can all agree that this is an issue that affects all regions of Canada, from coast to coast. It's nothing to celebrate.
We know that it's never easy to manage the agency because of new tax measures that are introduced. We recognize that. We are also aware that taxpayers are the ones who suffer the consequences of inadequate service.
Media surveys conducted over the past few weeks show that 95% of people who try to contact someone at the agency over the phone are unsuccessful. We can understand that there may be issues over the summer. However, 95% is huge. Only 5% of people manage to talk to someone on the phone. This is not a lottery; it is a public service to which Canadians are entitled and that they pay for.
An article in La Presse mentioned cases where the agency wasn't even able to provide specific information to Canadians who wanted to invest in a tax-free savings account, or TFSA. If they can't get their facts straight on how much someone can invest in a TFSA, the very basis of Canadians' savings is at stake. The very basis of a TFSA investor's future is at stake here.
The media has also reported cases where mistakes were made. You'll see the common thread.
Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal reported that 78-year-old Mr. Roujeon had to pay interest on an amount he had already paid to the Canada Revenue Agency. We know how it works. When you receive a notice from the agency, it says that you have to pay immediately or else you will be charged interest. If you've already paid, why would you pay interest? While someone is trying to prove that they've paid, the interest is accumulating. In this case, the agency finally realized that it was absurd and it had made a mistake.
Canadians in general are honest, hard-working people, apart from a few scofflaws. Hard-working people of good faith don't expect the Canadian government to treat them like thieves. However, that is what happened.
Another case involves 83-year-old Mr. Derome. The CRA claimed that he had phantom revenue that, as it turned out, was non-existent.
These examples are cited in Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal. Aside from the fact that they were mistreated by the agency, the common thread between these two is that they are an 83-year-old man and a 78-year-old man.
That brings me to a very important issue. Our seniors are the ones who built Canada and the wealth Canadians now enjoy. The least we can do is treat them with dignity. They shouldn't be taken for crooks, thieves or anything of the sort. We must not forget that these people, who were born in the 1930s and 1940s, are not digital natives. As a result, we need to respect their wishes. What they want is to have direct phone contact, to speak directly to a person.
Younger people have a natural skill with computers, but not everyone does. We have to respect that fact, particularly in the case of seniors.
I think the Canada Revenue Agency needs to be accountable. We look forward to seeing what the Auditor General says in her report. We are eager to see the findings of the report.
Whatever our political party, whatever region of Canada we live in, all of us parliamentarians have been approached in recent weeks or months by quite a lot of people who want access to the Canada Revenue Agency.
I think that, as parliamentarians, we should all work together on this.