Advocates concerned about delays, confusion for low-income Calgarians filing taxes

With an ongoing strike affecting federal government workers, including Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees, some low-income Calgarians are feeling stressed about filing on time and connecting with the agency.

Anti-poverty groups also hope there's no delay in benefits, as many of their clients depend on government help, especially in this economy.

Roy Farr went to Rise Calgary, an anti-poverty support service in the southeast, for help filing his income taxes after he wasn't able to get through to the CRA by phone or online.

"I can't get into my CRA account. They sent me a message. I've got five messages (and) I can't open them. There's nobody there to click on it to open, so I've got to wait until the strike is over," Farr said.

He also says he doesn't want to wait hours on the phone for assistance.

Rise Calgary has allowed him to file on time, but he remains unclear about all the benefits he's entitled to as a senior on a fixed, low income.

Andie Wolf Leg also uses the services at Rise Calgary to make sense of filing her return.

"It's kind of confusing. I'm just trying to find out what are these benefits about," she said.

Rise Calgary officials are worried this particular tax season features increased confusion and delays because of the ongoing general strike.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada strike has stretched nine days, affecting 39,000 CRA employees.

The deadline to file is a firm May 1.

"I think obviously, there should be an extension of the deadline," said Salimah Kassam, leader at Rise Calgary.

Kassam says her organization is one of many that helps prepare 10,000 returns a year for low-income Calgarians.

She also says crucial benefits are offered at tax time to help families, seniors and those living with disabilities.

"With these delays, you're going to need to give people time to get their taxes filed, to have all the volunteers and community agencies across the country have some grace in getting this work done for people, especially for vulnerable Canadians so they can access important benefits," she said.

This includes GST credits, the Canada Child Benefit, as well as other credits to help with affordable housing or disabilities.

Kassam is concerned more people are unclear about when they'll receive those supports.

"For those vulnerable Canadians, we're going to need some extra supports and services to be able to deal with all these delays and give people some room," she said.

The financial support charity Momentum says tax filing is often the first step to accessing income support and credits.

"For some people, they might be afraid that they owe but the truth is if you are living on a low income, you are much more likely to receive vital income if you do file your taxes," said Courtney Mo, director of community impact at Momentum.

The CRA says it will accept all returns during the labour disruption but expects delays to process any returns that are not submitted electronically.