Lesson learned from CRA dealings

I seem to have accidentally discovered a flaw in our dealings with the Canada Revenue Agency.

After multiple age-related medical problems, the CRA requested the receipts supporting our higher medical expense claim in 2016. The rather bulky collection of dental, optical, hearing, prescription, etc., receipts was mailed to the CRA last June (2017) using Canada Post’s Xpresspost service, whose tracking program showed the package was delivered to the CRA office in Shawinigan, Que., four days later.

The flaw in the system is that six months later I received a letter from the Winnipeg CRA office telling me that the CRA had not received my medical receipts, or any other communication, from me and that my entire medical expense claim was being voided. A substantial financial penalty.

For three months I have been trying unsuccessfully to convince the CRA that Canada Post’s tracking data show that I did send a letter/package to the CRA in June. The CRA claims that it received nothing at all from me in June, or any other time until I started complaining.

In my experience, it’s impossible to argue. God has spoken, and God is the Canada Revenue Agency.

In future I will try handing any critical material in to a local federal government office, Service Canada perhaps, have them check the material and give me a written receipt, and let them forward the material to the proper department using whatever means they trust and consider to be secure. Bob Woods, Saskatoon