Category: Auditor General

More Than 17 Million COVID Vaccine Doses Expired, Public Health Agency Reports

Over 17,300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses procured by the federal government have expired, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The figure was revealed in response to an Inquiry of Ministry by Conservative MP Kelly Block on April 25, in which she asked how many COVID-19 vaccine doses procured by the federal government had been…


Auditor General Says She Won’t Investigate Beijing-Linked Donation to Trudeau Foundation

The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) says it will not be investigating a donation made to the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation by donors linked to Beijing because the amount and private nature of the funds put them outside the office’s authority. “This decision is based on the scope of the Auditor General’s authority under…


McKinsey’s Canada Boss Says Politics Played No Role in Landing Contracts

The managing partner for McKinsey & Company’s Canadian operations told MPs politics played no role in his consulting firm obtaining an increasing number of contracts since the Liberals took power in 2015. “McKinsey contracts were awarded based on merit based criteria used by the public service, not as a result of any relationship at any…


Auditor General to Probe Federal Government Contracts With McKinsey

Canada’s auditor general will review the contracts awarded by the federal government to McKinsey & Company. A spokesperson for the independent agency confirmed to The Canadian Press on Friday that planning for the review is underway. No information was available about the scope or the extent of the probe that auditor general Karen Hogan and…


Tips Lead CRA to Recover $26 Million in Payments, Penalties Under Pandemic Relief Program: Federal Records

Tips from informants have led the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to recover over $26 million in penalties and incorrect payments under the federal government’s costliest pandemic relief program—the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). “Between April 2020 and last November 25 the Agency processed 1,986 leads from the public,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry of Ministry…


Verifying Billions of Possibly Ineligible COVID Subsidy Payments ‘Wouldn’t Be Worth the Effort’: CRA Commissioner

Verifying billions of COVID-19 wage subsidy claims that the Auditor General previously said could be ineligible is not “worth the effort,” says Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Commissioner Bob Hamilton. Hamilton appeared as a witness on Jan. 26 before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts alongside Auditor General Karen Hogan, where both faced questions…


Hundreds of Millions Being Spent to Recover Billions in Pandemic Subsidies Given in Error

The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to recover the billions of dollars it gave to ineligible recipients of pandemic subsidies, documents show. An Inquiry of Ministry filed by Conservative MP Corey Tochor returned specific figures from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), according to Blacklock’s Reporter. As of March…


Foreign Vessels Without Transponders Can Travel Undetected Through Canada’s Arctic: Auditor General

Auditor General Karen Hogan told MPs on a parliamentary committee Thursday that foreign vessels without transponders can travel undetected through Canada’s Arctic because of “gaps” in surveillance technology and resources. “Does Canada possess the capability to track a vessel that is without a transponder throughout the entire Arctic?” Conservative MP Pat Kelly asked Hogan during a…


Trudeau’s National Security Adviser Says She Hasn’t Seen Evidence of Chinese Funding to 11 Candidates

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national security adviser Jody Thomas says her office has seen no evidence supporting allegations that the Chinese regime funded 11 candidates in the 2019 federal election, but also said federal intelligence agencies are investigating the allegations. “The news stories that you have read about interference are just that: news stories,” Thomas…


Federal Ministers Defend Pandemic Subsidies that ‘Saved Lives’ After Auditor General Finds Misallocated Funds

Federal ministers defended their management of pandemic programs on Dec. 6 after the auditor general released reports indicating billions of dollars in subsidies were provided to ineligible recipients and that millions of unused doses of vaccines could go to waste. “I remain incredibly proud of the way our government responded to the economic and public…