In many cases, this means the Government has to change its organizational structures to make them less bureaucratic, more efficient, and more transparent. One way to do this is to change from a department to an agency . Agencies have more freedom to develop new ways of doing business and to tailor their services to meet the unique needs and expectations of their clients. Even with these increases in business volume, our costs have remained stable and we have achieved significant service improvements. These improvements include reducing the amount of time Canadians have to wait for income tax refunds, and speeding up the time it takes for goods to cross the border.
Clearing customs is easier for families.
Up to five family members can now make declarations on a single card providing they all reside at the same address. We are using new technologies to make it easier and more convenient to find tax information and file income tax returns electronically. Returns filed electronically are now processed within 14 days, compared to between 4 and 6 weeks for returns filed on paper through the mail. However, as Canada's economy continues to grow and the amount of trade between Canada and the world continues to increase, we have to innovate. We need to find new, more efficient ways to manage increases in business volume without sacrificing the effectiveness and quality of our services.