The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) collected $419 billion in taxes and duties in 2011-2012. It has over 39,000 employees working across Canada and is probably one of the more thankless departments to work for in any government.
“Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” goes the popular expression, repeated at dinner tables and bus stops across the nation.
So it should go without saying that being tasked to be one of the leaders within the CRA would take some expert navigating through some treacherous waters. One must deal with a giant organization, responsible for unwieldy sums of money and, of course, every penny must be accounted for or else there will be hell to pay from a public steeped in resentment for the taxman.
If ever a situation demanded steady, thoughtful leadership, it would be this one.
Andrew Treusch, Commissioner of Revenue and Chief Executive Officer of the CRA looks to do just this.
Treusch was appointed to the position in 2012. Previous to this post with the CRA, he was the Associate Deputy Minister of the Environment, and later the Associate Deputy Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.
He is also the Government of Canada’s Federal Deputy Minister Champion for Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the President of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).
Treusch will be participating in a panel at our Leadership Summit, titled Leadership Challenges and Blueprint 2020, along with Louise Levonian, Associate Deputy Minister for the Department of Finance and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Public Service Engagement for Blueprint 202, Kevin Leahy, RCMP inspector and chair of the National Managers’ Community; and moderator Karen Ellis, President of the Federal Economic Agency for Southern Ontario.
Registration for our 2014 Leadership Summit is now open. If you wish to attend the event, please visit our summit website to register.
You can follow Andrew Treusch on twitter at @AndrewTreusch and you can follow get the latest updates about the Leadership Summit at @CGEleadershipsummit.
Jeff Mackey is an intern with Canadian Government Executive, Vanguard and WRLWND magazines. Before joining us, Jeff worked with the Canadian Press in Toronto and Metro News in Regina. Now, back in his native Ottawa, Jeff is excited to cover everything from the public service and the military to today’s modern technology.
