The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Labour Program at ESDC today signed an Information Sharing Arrangement (ISA) to facilitate inspections and enforcement in the federally regulated trucking sector.
The government agencies had provincial and federal administrative barriers that prevented them from working together and sharing information to enhance enforcement. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has been working with both CRA and EDSC to bring these administrative walls down so that they could proactively work together to tackle an out-of-control underground economy that is destroying the competitive landscape of the trucking industry and driving compliant companies out of business.
“The sharing of information between these two key agencies in the fight against the underground economy in our sector will allow CRA to focus on – with a high degree of certainty – those trucking companies that owe millions, or likely billions, in unpaid taxes. This is much-needed revenue that should be going towards critical infrastructure and social programs for Canadians, including healthcare,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “At the same time, meaningful enforcement will provide some relief to responsible, compliant trucking companies who pay their fair share and who are desperately trying to stay in business.”
At this stage, the measure allows the CRA to receive relevant information from the Labour Program to support CRA’s existing compliance activities in the trucking sector. It represents the first step toward a broader information-sharing framework that will further support and maximize compliance and enforcement activities by both the CRA and Labour Program.
In a news release, the CRA and the Labour Program recognize the importance of addressing worker misclassification, wage theft, and non-compliance of tax laws , as well as the need to focus enforcement attention on the personnel service business (PSB) model, which is grossly misapplied in the trucking industry.
“The Government will fight against unfair labour practices to help workers receive the protections they are entitled to under the Canada Labour Code, and we will enforce compliance with tax obligations under the Income Tax Act… (the agreement) between the CRA and the Labour Program marks a significant step forward in maintaining a fair and equitable trucking industry that provides dignity to workers,” the news release stated. “By sharing data effectively, we are not only upholding integrity but also reinforcing our commitment to fostering a level playing field for all businesses.”
Laskowski applauded the agencies for this important step towards eradicating the rampant non-compliance in the trucking industry.
“The number one thing governments can do to help the trucking industry become competitive and more productive is to bring vigorous and widespread enforcement to labour and tax laws on the underground economy – everything else is a distant second,” he said. “Today’s announcement could be a very big piece of the enforcement puzzle towards creating that much-needed relief for an embattled trucking sector.”