Message from the Minister

It is an honour to be the Minister of National Revenue, responsible for an organization that is so essential to the social and economic well-being of Canadians. No other public organization touches the lives of more Canadians on a daily basis than the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

This Agency was created to provide more affordable, timely, and accessible service; to forge stronger relationships with our provincial, territorial, First Nations, and other federal government partners; and to realize operational efficiencies through our unique governance regime. This Annual Report to Parliament demonstrates our significant accomplishments across these three fronts.

I am proud of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's strong foundation of client-centred service delivery. We consult extensively with key client groups—individual taxpayers and benefit recipients, small businesses, large corporations, charitable organizations—and take action to maintain a high standard of innovative service delivery.

Our service efforts, backed by fair and responsible enforcement programs, are paying off. The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency has rightfully earned its reputation as one of the best tax administrations in the world. Canada can be proud of its high tax compliance rates. Last year, we collected over $313 billion in revenue to support Canada's programs—from health care to Old Age Security to renewing infrastructure in communities across Canada. We also paid nearly $12 billion in social benefits and credit programs, including $8.1 billion under the Canada Child Tax Benefit to over 3.1 million Canadians and $3.1 billion in GST/HST credits to almost 9.3 million Canadians.

Much of this success comes from leveraging our systems to work with our partners, who rely on us to support the delivery of their tax and benefit programs. They trust us to test new approaches to delivering services and accounting for our performance. These partnerships provide us with an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned.

Our Board of Management has been vital to our achievements over the past five years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Michael Turcotte, Chair of the Board of Management, who completes his term on October 30, 2004. His commitment, diligence, and principled approach made the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency a more strategic and forward-looking organization.

I take pride in tabling the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's 2003-2004 Annual Report to Parliament. I am confident this report demonstrates that we are successfully meeting our mandate and fulfilling our potential as an agency.

The Honourable John McCallum P.C., M.P.
Minister of National Revenue

Date modified:

2004-10-28