OTTAWA — More than 1,100 Canada Revenue Agency employees have been fired for cause since 2019, newly-released documents state.
A response to an order paper question — filed by Conservative MP Arpan Khanna — shows that Canada’s tax collecting agency has seen more employee turnover than any other government agency or crown corporation, firing 1,104 workers during the past five years.
Khanna requested details about how many federal civil have been fired for cause.
The dismissals at the CRA include 330 employees fired for improperly receiving Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to breakdowns provided in the nearly 100-page response, 135 CRA employees were fired so far this year for misconduct, 65 didn’t make it through probation, and an undetermined number were let go for incapacity, incompetence or abandonment of position — numbers for those three categories were withheld out of privacy concerns.
In 2023 alone, 196 people were discharged for misconduct, 91 didn’t finish probation, and 23 abandoned their positions, while numbers for incompetence and incapacity were redacted.
While 88 Mounties were fired for cause since 2019, the RCMP withheld details about how many members were terminated for misconduct, unsuitability, abandonment of post, imprisonment and not making probation.
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The Public Services and Procurement Canada let go 196 employees since 2019, including 27 so far this year.
The Department of National Defence saw 52 people dismissed since 2019, but only categorize the criteria as “discharge for misconduct” and “reasons other than breaches of discipline or misconduct.” The total only includes dismissals of civilian employees.
The Canada Border Services Agency fired 33 people for cause since 2019 — including one for workplace violence, seven for neglect of duty, three for harassment and discrimination, and six dismissals were related to private, off-duty conduct and outside activities.
Here’s a list of terminations at other departments:
— Correctional Service of Canada, 111 employees for cause.
— Fisheries and Oceans Canada — an agency that includes the Canadian Coast Guard, 144 employees fired for cause, including six for misconduct and 24 for incompetence.
— The National Battlefields Commission, 28 employees for a variety of reasons.
— Privy Council Office, three people.
— Veterans Affairs Canada, eight employees.
— Employment and Social Development Canada, 118 workers.
— Global Affairs Canada, 25 people over the past five years.
— Health Canada, 26 over the same time period.
Agencies that saw no for-cause dismissals since 2019 include the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Accessibility Standards Canada and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada refused to release any details, while the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, the Department of Justice, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Copyright Board of Canada, the Canadian Space Agency and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada acknowledged dismissing workers but declined to say how many and why.
The National Research Council of Canada fired at least 41 workers, but redacted the reasons and would not disclose how many were let go in 2020, 2021 and 2024.
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