David & Goliath: How one independent travel advisor took on the CRA—and won

Ontario-based travel advisor Judith Coates of Wired for Travel has achieved what many in the industry deem impossible: she’s won a battle against the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) over $33,000 in COVID-era benefits.

Last week, after a long fight, Coates received an official letter from the CRA confirming she was, in fact, eligible for both the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). It marked the end of a multi-year saga.

“It’s a huge win,” Coates told PAX over Zoom on Wednesday (May 28). “I had to keep fighting. I couldn’t just walk away.”

The lifeline…and then the audit

When the travel industry screeched to a near-halt in early 2020, independent travel advisors (ITAs) saw their income vanish overnight. Unlike storefront agencies, which qualified for wage and rent subsidies, several ITAs were left to fend for themselves.

For many, including Coates, the CERB and later CRB programs were the only resources available.

“It was great news,” Coates recalls of the moment in 2020 when she and her peers began receiving government-issued benefits. “We all started getting it. It was giving us a lifeline.”

But that relief turned into anxiety when, in October 2023, Coates received a letter from the CRA stating she was not eligible for the benefits she had received. The government wanted the money back – $33,000, to be exact.

Like many other ITAs, Coates had used the funds to survive during one of the most financially devastating periods of her career. The CRA’s decision didn’t sit right with her, so she appealed.

The cost of standing up

She submitted all kinds of documents—bank statements, commission records—but her appeal was denied.

It could have had something to do with the way Coates worded a letter. “I didn’t explain why I wasn’t working—because at that time, nobody could travel. To me, it seemed very self-explanatory,” she said.

She tried again, and by February 2024, the CRA remained unmoved, determining that she still wasn’t entitled to the benefits.

Finally, with few options left, Coates filed a federal judicial review—a last-resort legal move.

But even that wasn’t easy. Coates struggled to find a law firm that would take on her case. “Most firms only do big corporate tax appeals,” she explained. “The rates were exorbitant. It wasn’t worth it.”

Eventually, through her accountant, she found Beitel Tax Law in Toronto, which charged her a flat (and reasonable) fee for re-filing her application with the CRA and advising her through the process.

“I’d rather pay someone to help me do the work than give the money back to the government,” Coates said. “This was about principle. I knew I qualified.”

The CRA responded within two weeks – and they didn’t want to take Coates to court.

“It’s more work for them to do that,” Coates said. “In most cases, they will settle.”

But it didn’t end there. Her case was then escalated to a supervisor within the CRA—someone who, for the first time, appeared to have some grasp on how independent travel advisors earn income.

“She had a clearer understanding. She told me she’d spoken to many other travel advisors,” Coates said.

It was a breakthrough. Coates submitted additional documentation, including this PAX-produced video of Canadian MPs acknowledging the plight of ITAs, recordings of parliamentary support from her time with the Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors (ACITA), and petitions that showcased the grassroots struggle of the profession.

Eventually, the CRA reversed its decision. It seemed that Coates was eligible all along.

The bigger picture  

It was a welcome win – a David and Goliath tale, if you will – but the story illustrates a broader problem.

The CRA can sometimes fail to account for the nuances of how independent travel advisors earn—or in some cases, don’t earn—money.

“The CRA doesn’t understand that we don’t get paid until a client travels – even though we’ve done the work,” said Coates. “During COVID, people weren’t travelling. I was working full-time, helping clients cancel and rebook. But I was making nothing. I was volunteering.”

This lack of understanding was evident in CRA’s own internal documentation of her case, which Coates had an opportunity to review as part of her settlement.

“There were a lot of things that were wrong in the notes. My lawyer helped me focus on those areas to build my case,” she said.

Why most don’t fight back

Coates estimates that most travel advisors facing repayment demands from the CRA simply pay up.

“They think, ‘There’s no way I’m going to be able to fight this,’” she said. “And it’s embarrassing. You feel like you did something wrong—even when you didn’t. That’s why more people aren’t coming forward.”

Most CRA reviews of the CERB benefit focus on a single criterion: whether the advisor earned at least $5,000 in employment or self-employment income in the qualifying period. They also, during a period, had to have their income reduced to lower than $1,000 a month.

Many ITAs may have qualified for the benefits, but proving it to a bureaucracy unfamiliar with the ITA business model is a separate challenge altogether.

“There are some who probably didn’t qualify, yes,” Coates said. “But a lot of us were doing this full-time. We didn’t have time to go out and get another job because we were so busy looking after our clients. That's where I felt the CRA didn't understand.”

Paying it forward

Now, with her case behind her, Coates is paying it forward.

She’s advising at least one other travel agent within The Travel Agent Next Door who is just beginning the same arduous process.

Her message to others? “Don’t give up,” she says. “Just because the CRA says no the first time doesn’t mean no. You have to escalate it. And escalate it again. Don’t just walk away.”

Coates hopes that sharing her experience will support others going through similar challenges. Travel professionals seeking general advice are invited to contact Coates directly at judith@wiredfortravel.com.

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