'everyone was on edge': cra agents received notable increase in threatening, suicidal calls during pandemic
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data provided by the cra shows that its agents logged 294 security incident calls containing threats in 2019-2020, but that number dipped to 213 in 2020-2021 before surging again to 376 the following year.
ottawa — the number of suicidal and threatening calls reported by canada revenue agency call agents surged during the covid-19 pandemic as canadians’ stress levels and mental health concerns grew, according to data obtained by the national post
canada revenue agency call centres didn’t just have to deal with an increase in calls from canadians trying to access covid-19 emergency aid benefits, like the $2,000-per-month canada emergency response benefit.
data provided by the cra shows that its agents logged 294 security incident calls containing threats in 2019-2020 (the first year the agency began compiling statistics on the issue). that number dipped to 213 in 2020-2021 — the year when the cra’s call centres were woefully understaffed and trying to adjust to new covid-19 lockdowns and working from home — before surging again to 376 the following year.
cra spokesperson sylvie branch said the threats ranged from bomb threats to threats of damage or bodily harm.
but the jump in threatening calls is driven specifically by one type of call: taxpayers telling cra agents “they are contemplating or overtly threatening to harm themselves or end their life.”
the number of suicidal calls reported by agents nearly doubled, from 132 to 259 from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022. it was also a marked increase compared to the year before the pandemic (195).
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at the height of the pandemic in 2021-2022, cra’s call centres received 14.2 million calls, or nearly 40,000 a day on average. branch said threatening or suicidal callers were a “very small” fraction of those calls, but were treated with the utmost concern.
“however, every call involving a threat of violence or self-harm was addressed in a manner reflecting the gravity of the situation,” branch said.
“the majority of these calls are cordial and focused on resolving tax matters. however, the topic of taxes can be complex, emotional or frustrating. in these cases, agents are trained to shift towards a more empathetic, human approach and to focus on the person at the other end of the line,” she added.
marc brière, the president of the union of taxation employees, says that he isn’t surprised to see a rise in the number of threatening calls during the pandemic because everyone was on edge, particularly during lockdowns.
he said many of his regional delegates confided that their members were reporting a concerning uptick in threatening calls to the agency back in 2021-2022.
“since the beginning of time at the cra, there have always been threatening calls, threats of suicide, death threats, bomb threats, callers threatening to punch us. i’ve received some myself back in the day,” brière said.
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“everyone was on edge, everyone is affected by the pandemic, everyone is more fragile, as much our members and cra employees as the average canadian. so, i’m not surprised to see growth in threatening calls because of the pandemic. i think there’s a direct correlation.”
brière has been critical of the agency’s role in fractious collective bargaining negotiations that led his 37,000-member union to “overwhelmingly” vote for a strike mandate as of last week. his members could declare a strike as early as friday if negotiations between the government and the public sector alliance of canada break down.
but he said he commended the agency for how it supports its workers who must grapple with threatening calls.
“i can’t criticize cra for this. all threats are taken seriously, the employer doesn’t mess around with that, and the union is informed of them as well,” he noted.
branch, the cra spokesperson, said that when a taxpayer is “contemplating or overtly threatening self-harm, the cra may report it to the appropriate authorities for investigation and action, such as a wellness check.”
according to the cra’s suicide call guidelines obtained by the national post, agents who are on the line with a taxpayer threatening to harm themselves should “listen and support” the caller, demonstrate “genuine concern” for their well-being and recommend that they transfer them to a crisis centre phone line.
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“stay calm. of the total number of people who contemplate suicide, a relatively small proportion do so with serious intent,” reads the first step of one cra guide for individual contact centre agents.
“if you conclude that there is a real likelihood of a suicide attempt,” the agent should keep the caller on the phone while a superior contacts police.
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