Bell has been awarded a massive contract to overhaul the call centres for some of the federal government’s busiest departments.
The multi-department deal will see Bell modernize the systems used by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The project will move these high-traffic front doors to a cloud-based platform powered by California-based Genesys, an AI-focused customer service software company. The goal is to move away from aging infrastructure to a digital system that can better handle the millions of inquiries Canadians make regarding taxes, social benefits, and immigration status.
“We’re proud to partner with Shared Services Canada to bring a modern, cloud-first solution to the Government of Canada. This transformation is all about people, ensuring the Government of Canada is best placed to deliver innovation that supports Canadians in the moments that matter most,” said Costa Pantazopoulos, VP, Product, Bell, in a statement on Tuesday.
A key requirement of the federal contract is data residency. Bell confirmed that the new solution will be hosted entirely within Canadian data centres to comply with national data sovereignty guidelines.
By shifting to a unified cloud platform, the government expects to see faster onboarding for agents and improved reliability during peak periods, such as tax season (good luck getting someone to answer). The rollout is intended to serve as the new foundation for how the federal government delivers digital services to the public.
The announcement did not detail the dollar amount of the contract, but we’ve reached out to Bell for clarification and will update accordingly.
Update: A Bell spokesperson provided a statement to iPhone in Canada regarding the financial details of the deal. The company noted that the federal government is responsible for the proactive disclosure of all contracts exceeding $10,000 through its own reporting channels. Bell stated it defers to the government’s specific timelines and processes for those disclosures rather than providing figures as a supplier.
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These systems are doomed with Bell at the helm