Mr. Speaker, with respect to the above question, what follows is the response from the CRA for the time period of April 1, 2015 to February 5, 2024, that is, the date of the question.

For the purposes of this question, the response is limited to taxpayers who have filed a T1 general income tax and benefit return, and an audit is defined as a compliance action whereby the CRA closely examines the books and records of a taxpayer to confirm whether they are fulfilling their tax obligations, following tax laws correctly and receiving the benefits and refunds to which they are entitled.

Various sources of information may lead the CRA to take compliance actions, including criminal investigations. In initiating a criminal investigation, the CRA will examine various sources of information, including internal referrals within the CRA, including the various audit programs; tips from individuals through the CRA informant leads lines; information received from various law enforcement agencies; and publicly available sources of information, which could include media articles, court decisions, etc.

The decision to accept a file for criminal investigation and possible subsequent prosecution is based on several factors, including the egregious nature of the case, available evidence that a crime has been committed and the likelihood of prosecution. In order for charges to be considered, CRA investigators will gather sufficient evidence to establish that a crime has been committed and that the individual did so with intent, and will then provide that to the Public Prosecution Services of Canada (PPSC). To determine whether an investigation will be conducted or charges will be laid, several factors specific to each case are taken into account, such as jurisprudence and the availability of evidence.

It is important to note that in criminal matters, the PPSC independently reviews the evidence of a case and decides whether or not to prosecute.

In response to parts (a) and (b) of the question, the CRA does not track audits in the manner requested; as such, it is not possible to provide the requested information.

In response to part (c) of the question, the CRA cannot provide the results as requested for parts (a) and (b). However, the CRA does publish its overall audit results on the Government of Canada’s webpage, “Better results: The CRA at work for you”, found at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/tax-evasion-no-borders/cracking-down-getting-results.html). Information from 2014-2015 to 2021-2022 is published on this website.

In response to part (d) of the question, as for parts (a) and (b), the CRA cannot provide the requested numbers, since it does not track criminal investigations, prosecutions or convictions in this manner. However, the CRA does publicize results of prosecutions on the Canada.ca website, at “Enforcement notifications: Compliance actions”, found at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/criminal-investigations-actions-charges-convictions.html). Information currently published on this website covers the time period from March 2019 to the present.

Marie-Claude Bibeau

$493,948.00