One Comment About Taxation – The CRA’s 100-Day Plan  Treated Symptoms, Not the Structural Rot

 

I was chatting with a friend last week who asked me, “Why do you dislike the Canada Revenue Agency so much?”. I was a bit shocked since I really don’t. I actually quite admire and respect the important job that the CRA has to do (administering Canada’s complex tax laws is very difficult), its people and its leadership. And I’ve tried to make that clear with all of my writings but more importantly my day-to-day interactions with them. Over the years, however, I have not been shy to point out where the CRA needs to improve and that’s likely the cause of my friend’s misunderstanding.

 

The CRA has had massive budget increases in recent years. Because of that one would logically think that there would be improved service for Canadians. Nope. Instead, we have a bloated CRA with a call centre that is virtually unapproachable. We have new CRA agents that are very poorly trained. Many agents are often working from home with obvious unprofessional distractions. While some have no issues with CRA employees working from home, let me be clear: I do. In my view, working from home is not a matter of the “modern workplace” or getting with the times. Instead, working with colleagues in a face-to-face environment is simply the best way for people to learn, collaborate on difficult issues, ensure proper training / supervision, and provide for overall good outcomes.

 

In addition, it is now routine for taxpayer audits to be horribly conducted with resulting proposed reassessments that are laughable. Unfortunately, such reassessments put taxpayers in a position where they are forced to object to the reassessments. Earlier this month, we found out that taxpayer objections have spiked. This puts a further strain on the CRA and, of course, taxpayer resources.

 

But back to the call centres. On September 2, 2025, Minister Champagne made an announcement on his X account that he was asking the CRA to come up with a so-called “100-day plan” to improve its call centre performance and other services. At the time, I was refreshed by the blunt assessment that CRA needed to improve. Notwithstanding, I was obviously skeptical that the “100-day plan” would be nothing more than a political exercise.

 

The CRA created a 100-day plan website where it tracked the progress that it was apparently making. Indeed, there were some improvements. But it was obvious as the days rolled along that the CRA was more concerned about treating the symptoms rather than tackling the long-standing and systemic issues that lead to the symptoms. When that became apparent, I predicted that when the 100^th day arrived – December 11, 2025 – there would be a lot of self-congratulations by the CRA and the Minister for its “successful treatment of the symptoms”. I was hopeful, however, that wouldn’t be the case and instead a longer-term plan would be presented that would tackle the root causes of poor taxpayer service.

 

Fast forward to late October and the Auditor General released its report on the CRA’s call centre performance and other standards. It was a scathing report. And now we knew why the Minister, on September 2, was calling for a “100-day plan”: he and the CRA had obviously been provided an advance copy of the report and were trying to get ahead of the damage. Yep, politics was indeed driving the bus as suspected.

 

From that point forward, I was confident my prediction of self-congratulatory slaps on the back would be the result on December 11.

 

On the evening of December 10, I was tingling! I was so excited!! I finally went to bed but it brought back memories of my childhood on Christmas Eve so excited for Christmas morning. Santa would be coming soon! That’s how I felt when I put my head on the pillow on December 10. I was so damn excited to see what was coming on December 11! Santa was hopefully bringing a much-improved CRA call centre and services!

 

On the morning of December 11, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my iPhone, an old rotary phone and my iPad. The excitement was over the top! I tried calling the CRA with my iPhone to see if I could notice any improvements and the ability to get though easier than before! No noticeable improvement. I then picked up my old relic – the rotary phone. No success there either. My excitement was starting to diminish.

 

I then went to my iPad and saw a CRA press release about the results of the 100-day plan staring me in the face.  After reading it, I was significantly disappointed. I don’t think I was ever disappointed during my childhood on Christmas morning when Santa arrived – even if the presents were modest. I was grateful and always thankful. The CRA press release, however, was exactly as I had predicted: self-congratulatory pats on the back for all the “progress” that it made treating the symptoms with only a passing acknowledgment that the root causes will be looked at.

 

Given this, the CRA’s 100-day plan became yet another case study in bureaucratic and political self-congratulation. Canadians deserve better. Improved taxpayer service isn’t about putting out short-term fires or building shiny dashboards to track superficial and underwhelming targets (like answering only 70% of taxpayer calls). It’s about fixing the structural rot: poorly trained agents, inaccessible systems, broken audit functions, and a call centre model that’s essentially unapproachable.

 

So how did I answer my friend who asked me “Why do you dislike the CRA so much?” I answered that, if anything, I likely care too much. I want the CRA to be better because the stakes are high, the gaps are widening, and Canadian taxpayers – the lifeblood of this country – deserve far more respect than they’re getting.

 

Santa delivers quietly, efficiently and is constantly improving his processes and systems with his elves without self-congratulatory press releases. The Minister and the CRA could learn a thing or two.

 

One Comment About Leadership – Leaders, Be a Good Thermostat

 

Have you ever walked into a room and the temperature is frigid? Or maybe too warm? What’s the first thing you do? More than likely, you find the thermostat and adjust it.

 

Now think about this in terms of leadership. How do your teammates feel when they interact with you? Is the emotional temperature just right?

 

Think about times when you’ve entered a meeting or workspace and the leader’s emotional energy is… off. Maybe they’re cold, distracted, not inviting. Maybe they dominate the room, drone on endlessly, and suck the energy out of everyone.

 

Setting the right emotional temperature requires intentional effort and high self-awareness. Great leaders set the tone through humility, vulnerability, and genuine interest in others. It’s not about fake cheerleading – it’s about showing up with purpose, presence, and emotional intelligence.

 

A leader’s energy is contagious. If you show up disengaged or pessimistic, your team will mirror that. If you’re overly amped up or reckless, they’ll follow that too. The team doesn’t need a thermometer that simply reacts to the environment. They need a thermostat that sets it.

 

Bottom line: Be the thermostat. Set the emotional tone you want your team to reflect.

 

One Comment About Economics  – The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s Report on Canada’s Proposed Increased Debt Ceiling

 

Under Canada’s fiscal framework, the Borrowing Authority Act (BAA) and Part IV of the Financial Administration Act give the Minister of Finance authority to borrow money up to a maximum amount explicitly approved by Parliament. This maximum functions as a statutory ceiling on outstanding federal market debt.

 

The Parliamentary Budget Officer, in his report of December 15, 2025, noted that the current ceiling — which came into force in June 2024 — is $2,126 billion. Bill C-15 now proposes to raise that ceiling to $2,541 billion, an increase of more than $400 billion.

 

The PBO’s most noteworthy observation is not the increase itself, but its timing. This would be a new borrowing-limit increase only 18 months after the last one, well ahead of the more typical three-year cycle. For that reason, the PBO suggests that parliamentarians may wish to request that the Minister of Finance table a new report to explain and justify the proposed increase.

 

That is a reasonable request.

 

Raising the borrowing ceiling is not necessarily a crisis signal. But repeated increases in short succession are a confirmation of fiscal direction. Out-of-control government spending remains elevated, deficits are structural rather than temporary, higher interest rates along with higher debt amounts have materially increased public debt charges. The ceiling is being raised because existing fiscal plans no longer fit beneath it.

 

Notably, this proposed increase was not a focal point of the November 4, 2025 federal budget. It did not feature prominently in the budget’s fiscal narrative, despite its size and its implications.

 

Borrowing ceilings are guardrails, not tripwires. Raising one does not cause an accident. But raising them more frequently – and quietly – reduces fiscal flexibility and deserves clear parliamentary explanation.

 

The PBO is right to flag it.

 

Bonus Comment – Quote From  Craig  Groeschel – American Pastor, Author  and Speaker – About Leaders Setting the Tone

 

“When the leader gets better, everyone gets better. When the leader is healthier emotionally, the team becomes healthier too.”

 

Absolutely agree!!

 

Hope you enjoyed this edition of 1-1-1. If you’re not already part of the In the Mood Network, now’s the time. Please sign-up today.  Whether it’s through consulting, coaching, speaking, or writing, my work is about planting acorns: deliberate, principled actions that challenge the status quo and grow into something far bigger. The goal? Bold reform. Stronger foundations. And a country that values hard work and common sense.