Our 2006-2007 Results

Our Program Activities

Corporate Services

Our corporate services provide the infrastructure and strategic direction that guide the delivery of CRA operations. These internal services include human resources, finance and administration, information technology, public affairs, corporate audit and program evaluation, and policy and intergovernmental affairs. By integrating these services across the CRA, we ensure that our tax and benefits programs have the guidance, infrastructure, and resources needed for successful program delivery.

The annual Management Accountability Framework (MAF) assessment conducted by the TBS is a good indicator of our performance in managing the functions that make up our corporate services activity. The MAF assessment of the CRA for Round IV was very positive; for the 10 indicators against which we were assessed, the CRA received three “strong” ratings, seven “acceptable” ratings and no “attention required” ratings. Four indicators have improved ratings compared with the 2005 assessment, and none are worse. The CRA was found to be at or above the federal public sector norm for all of the indicators against which it was assessed.

TBS did not assess six indicators in the MAF assessment that relate to the legislated authorities that fall under the purview of our Board of Management. To complement the MAF process and, at the direction of the Board, we have been developing a Board of Management Oversight Framework to support the Board in the exercise of its particular legislated responsibilities.

Human Resources

We continued to enhance our human resource programs to ensure that our workforce is knowledgeable, representative, and committed to our success in program delivery.

Across the CRA, nearly 44,000 employees contribute to the delivery of our mandated programs and services. Competency-Based Human Resources Management (CBHRM) continues to be the basis of the human resource services provided to recruit and develop our employees. In the past year, the CBHRM regime has advanced along several fronts. We accelerated the use of pre-qualification processes and increased the percentage of employees with validated competencies. We completed staffing processes more efficiently, and continued to ensure that candidates have--and will have--the necessary competencies. Pursuing our objective of having a knowledgeable and skilled workforce, we enhanced the individual learning plan process to include improved planning and monitoring of investments in learning. This improves our ability to link individual learning plans to our business objectives. Our new Human Resources Service Delivery Model will standardize human resource activities across our regions through the implementation of three regional centres of expertise in each region (resourcing, workplace relations and human resource planning and development).

In 2006-2007, the relationship between management and unions was further strengthened. The Union-Management initiative was implemented across the CRA and national and regional steering committees were established.

In 2006-2007, we continued streamlining compensation delivery services. The number of compensation client service centres within the CRA has been reduced, as all offices--with the exception of Shawinigan--have been consolidated into the Ottawa and Winnipeg Compensation Client Service centres.

Information Technology

Our IT strategy is well aligned with the our mission and business needs. The IT Asset Management Plan is a subset of CRA’s global Asset Management Plan and serves to synchronize the development of our internal services infrastructure with our business direction.

We enhanced the IT infrastructure with updates to the CRA network, host, electronic commerce, and distributed computing environments, while also meeting the challenges of safeguarding our IT assets from accidental or deliberate system security threats.

Critical to the delivery of services to Canadians is the availability, recoverability, and security of our IT systems and infrastructure. With one exception noted below, we achieved high levels of availability for the many national systems critical to program delivery. From March 5 to 13, we had an electronic tax filing outage incident during which our databases related to individual tax files were not available for update. Our response to the incident was immediate. All necessary resources were deployed to address the issue. A transparent and comprehensive communications strategy was employed. It included daily updates to keep the media, employees, unions, client governments, and internal and external stakeholders well informed on an ongoing basis. In the end, the integrity and confidentiality of information was not compromised, and negative impact on taxpayers was kept to a minimum.

We continued the development of our electronic Business Computing Infrastructure/UNIX platform to ultimately provide the same level of service using Web-based applications for Canadians as we have provided in the past with our mainframes.

With the introduction of the My Business Account portal in 2006, Canadian businesses now have access to an array of our online service offerings as part of the Government On-Line suite of offerings.

The CRA continues to provide IT infrastructure and corporate administrative systems services to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). This service includes support for up to 13,500 CBSA employees at 250 sites across Canada, includes about 10,000 personal computers, 2,100 laptops, and about 100 mainframe terminals.

We strive to anticipate our future needs, researching and piloting new technology and building Agency-wide solutions to meet business objectives. This year, we began the implementation of encryption technology for all laptops and removable storage media, and the implementation of intrusion defence technology on our network and servers, which enables proactive identification and prevention of potential threats to our infrastructure.

The Managed Distributed Environment initiative is improving IT services across the CRA through the implementation of standardized policies and procedures, enhanced asset management, automated IT support and the development of a centralized National Computing Platform in the Data Centre.

We advanced the building of our data warehouse, enhancing our ability to evaluate, execute, and report on new and existing programs, as well as delivering business intelligence solutions in support of programs requiring tactical and strategic decision-making.

We are introducing Business Rules Engine technology to provide more control and flexibility in our management of tax debt.

We completed the reengineering of the GST/HST system delivering a sustainable application that lays the foundation for improved compliance monitoring. We also provided a timely response to legislative priorities delivering Universal Child Care Benefits and Softwood Lumber applications in very short timeframes.

Through our Data Centre Recovery Project, we implemented recovery technology, processes, and plans for our mainframe and network, ensuring our ability to recover all critical data, applications, and services in the event of a disaster in one of our two data centres.

We maintained trust and integrity by keeping Canadians’ personal information secure. In 2006-2007, we met the challenges of safeguarding IT assets from increased accidental or deliberate threats to system security.

Finance and Administration

We strengthened financial planning systems, and increased the accuracy of projections by reinforcing management’s commitment to sound stewardship of resources. Managers continued to be held accountable for projecting a variance of no greater than plus or minus five per cent between the forecasted Annual Expenditure Plan at the second quarter and year-end actual expenditures. This focus on financial management strengthens the link between program performance and the use of limited resources. We continued our focus on resource review and reallocation, which involved a mix of expenditure reviews for major initiatives, identification of program efficiencies, and reallocation of funding to higher CRA priorities. We used our In-Year Performance Reports to link resources to results, and Resource and Investment Management Committee (RIMC) reallocated resources to priority areas.

We continued streamlining our finance and administration function. New financial and administrative service delivery models were introduced in the regions that feature centres of expertise, or centralized service delivery. Our streamlining plans included a reduction in the number of financial transaction centres; the introduction of the National Centre of Professional Services for Regional Contracting in Laval, Quebec, and a Centre of Professional Services for E-Business in each region. We also rationalized our mail processing operations, and we established centres of expertise for real property in each region.

To guide our business decisions, we introduced a new Enterprise Risk Management Strategy. We completed the development and testing of risk management processes that will enable the assessment and management of risks across all programs.

We maintained high standards in the protection of employees, information, facilities, and systems, through compliance and monitoring reviews that ensured an adequate policy framework and implemented strategies to protect taxpayer information. We issued security training and awareness communications to all employees.

This year, we continued to build our capacity for assessing and reporting on internal controls over financial reporting, as part of the process for Chief Financial Officer (CFO) certification. The process will be aligned with new deputy head and CFO responsibilities that will be set by TBS’s internal controls policy, once completed. Additionally, we prepared for what will be the first Auditor General’s Report on Controls at a Service Organization ever issued for a public sector organization. This report will provide the provinces and territories with greater assurance regarding the reliability of the financial information we provide pertaining to corporate income tax.

In March 2007, the TBS approved the joint CRA/PWGSC submission enabling us to assume management responsibilities for CRA’s real property portfolio. Also, in March 2007, a real property services agreement was signed with PWGSC, which will allow us to fully exercise the real property authority that we were given under the CRA Act.

Public Affairs

We continued to develop the multi-year brand strategy to help maintain Canadians’ confidence in the CRA and their tax system. This year, we developed the Brand Strategy, the Brand Implementation Plan, and the Brand Measurement Framework. A new brand architecture and a new corporate look was also approved.

We continued the modernization of the publishing function in 2006-2007 to achieve greater value for money and improve security. In particular, cost savings were derived from changing the kit cover to clear polyethylene wrap. The security of tax kits was enhanced by ensuring that the taxpayer’s social insurance number was hidden from view.

In 2006-2007, we also continued with the implementation of the multi-year Intranet Renewal Plan. Specifically, we developed the Intranet Strategic Plan, a governance framework and high-level business requirements. Intranet renewal will enhance employee productivity and knowledge sharing.

Corporate Audit and Evaluation

Sound governance also means ensuring that tax dollars are spent effectively. In 2006-2007, we conducted internal audits and program evaluations that provided objective information, advice, and assurance on the soundness of our activities. We reported the results of the audits and evaluations to the Board of Management’s Audit Committee.

Legal Services

Our Legal Services group continues to provide legal advice with respect to our operations and policies. It also co-ordinates the larger Department of Justice service in collections, international tax, investigations, and appeals advisory work. Legal Services provided training to our employees in areas such as Access to Information and Privacy, confidentiality of tax information, ethics and conflict of interest, and several areas of public law.

Relations with Provinces and Territories

In 2006, the governments of Canada and Ontario signed a memorandum of agreement that will transfer the administration of Ontario corporate income tax from the Ontario Ministry of Revenue to the CRA. The governments of Canada and Ontario have agreed to expand the current Tax Collection Agreement for the administration of Ontario’s personal income tax to include corporate taxes. We will also administer other taxes on corporations--the capital tax and special additional tax on life insurers--on a cost-recovery basis. This initiative will increase the harmonization of the tax systems in Canada, reduce compliance costs for businesses, and reduce administration costs for governments.

The single administration of Ontario’s corporate tax will more than triple the amount of corporate income tax that the CRA collects on behalf of the provinces and territories. The governments of Canada and Ontario anticipate that the transition to full implementation, including the filing of a single corporate income tax return, should be complete by January 2009 for tax years ending after December 31, 2008. Considerable progress was achieved in 2006-2007 by both governments in anticipation of the transition.

To strengthen relationships with existing and new clients, we have followed a course of transparent financial management and reporting of our planning, decision-making, and accountability processes. This policy has further strengthened our clients’ trust in our ability to provide effective business solutions.

Date modified:

2007-11-01