Can CRA send a requirement to pay directly to my bank to collect a tax debt?

Yes. A requirement to pay, often called an RTP, is a formal demand CRA can issue directly to a third party, including your bank, requiring them to redirect money they hold for you straight to CRA instead of to you. CRA can do this to collect from a bank account without first having to sue you in court the way an ordinary private creditor generally must, because CRA's collection powers under the Income Tax Act are genuinely broader in this respect than an ordinary unsecured creditor's.

This administrative power is real and significant, and it surprises a lot of people who assume any creditor has to get a court judgment first before touching their money. CRA doesn't need to take that extra step; the requirement to pay itself is the collection mechanism, issued directly to your financial institution. This is one of the reasons unresolved tax debt shouldn't be left to sit, since the tools available to CRA to collect it are considerably more direct than those available to most other creditors you might owe money to. If you're facing a tax debt CRA is actively pursuing, understanding that this tool exists, and confirming exactly how it could affect your specific accounts, is worth doing before it's used rather than after.