From: dog@gmail.com   
      
   On Tue, 30 Jun 2015 03:13:26 -0700, Alan Baggett wrote:   
      
   > Two-thirds of calls to Canada Revenue Agency end with busy signal: CRA   
   > SOTW   
   >   
   > Jordan Press, The Canadian Press | June 19, 2015 11:50 AM ET   
   >   
   > OTTAWA -- Almost seven in every 10 callers looking for help from the   
   > Canada Revenue Agency are greeted by a busy signal because the lines are   
   > overwhelmed, newly released documents show. Figures tabled in Parliament   
   > this week show that in the 2014-15 fiscal year, about one-third of the   
   > 60.1 million calls made to the tax agency went through on the first try.   
   > The remaining two-thirds, or 40.9 million calls, got a busy signal.   
   >   
   > The CRA's phone system doesn't allow every call into the system. When   
   > the system is at capacity, callers hear a busy signal, forcing them to   
   > make multiple calls.   
   >   
   > So far this fiscal year, things have gotten worse.   
   >   
   > The data show that of the 12.8 million calls between March 30 and May 1,   
   > 2015 -- the most recent figures available -- a busy signal greeted   
   > almost four in every five calls. At that rate, by the end of this fiscal   
   > year 59.6 million calls to the CRA won't be connected right away -- or   
   > at least be put in the queue to speak to an official.   
   >   
   > The wait times are supposed to be two minutes, which the CRA meets about   
   > 81 per cent of the time, according to the figures tabled in response to   
   > an order paper question from Liberal MP Ralph Goodale. Goodale said the   
   > figures show that budget cuts at the CRA, including decreases in front   
   > line staff to handle inquiries, have eroded its ability to meet service   
   > standards.   
   >   
   > This is an organization that is not in a position to provide the   
   > standards of service that Canadians should expect   
   >   
   > "It's pretty meagre and it mocks the word service," Goodale said.   
   >   
   > The funding to the CRA's taxpayer's services, for instance, has been cut   
   > by about 24 per cent between 2012-13 and 2015-16 fiscal years leading to   
   > an equivalent reduction in the number of staff, government documents   
   > say.   
   >   
   > "This is an organization that is not in a position to provide the   
   > standards of service that Canadians should expect," Goodale said.   
   >   
   > Goodale said the government needs to revisit its budget cuts to this   
   > part of the CRA and review the technology used to answer citizen queries   
   > to improve service standards.   
   >   
   OK, that's interesting. I'm writing from S.Africa where it's sensible to   
   expect a transformation from a N.Zealand-like society to a Haittian.   
   It took over a decade for Zimbabwe to 'transform'.   
   But I'm surprised to hear that Canada is degenerating too.   
      
   Also I was revisiting some of the legal-Newsgroup-threads that I'd kept   
   from a few years ago, and wondering what happened to the old competent   
   posters.  Yes, there are now a zillion new F/B-twitter-kiddies, but the   
   old timers didn't all die. Where/how do they exchange knowledge now?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)