By Dian Cohen
The people who process our income taxes have been without a contract with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for more than a year. They declared an impasse last fall and have just concluded a strike vote.
The Public Interest Commission (PIC) tries to help the parties reach an agreement to avoid a strike. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) and Canada Revenue Agency meets with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. The Commission then issues a non-binding recommendation. PSAC-UTE are now in a legal strike position.
The CRA portal opened on Feb. 20 to file your 2022 taxes. Canadians have until May 1 this year, as April 30 falls on a Sunday.
A strike won’t affect your ability to email your tax return. The question is, “Who’s going to process it?” Since the tax season is in full sway, it’s likely that the government will not allow a strike to go on long. CRA says it’s already working with the Union of Taxation Employees to identify positions with duties that can be declared “essential services” during a strike. A strike could impact access to call centres, which are already regularly overloaded during tax season.
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