What we examined (see Focus of the audit)

This audit focused on whether the Northwest Territories’ Department of Municipal and Community Affairs adequately supported community governments’ delivery of essential services the Department funded—drinking water, waste management, fire protection, and emergency preparedness. To assess whether the Department’s support was adequate, we examined whether the Department monitored the provision of these essential services in communities across the Northwest Territories to know whether these services were being adequately delivered. We also examined whether the Department assisted communities in delivering essential services, including helping to mitigate risks where services were inadequate. In addition, we examined the Department’s efforts to build community government capacity through its School of Community Government.

Why we did this audit

This audit is important because without adequate support from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, community governments may not always deliver essential services as required, thereby putting residents’ health and well-being at risk.

What we concluded

We concluded that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs did not adequately support community governments’ delivery of the essential services it funded. Although the Department monitored community governments’ provision of some essential services to residents, it did not adequately assist community governments to help ensure essential services were provided in accordance with requirements. We found that risks remained in delivering these services and that the Department’s actions to mitigate these risks in many cases were not sufficient.

Community governments are responsible for the delivery of essential services to their residents. However, the Department must adequately monitor and support these community governments, and assist them in managing risks associated with inadequate service delivery.

What we found

Support for essential services in communities

Overall, we found that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs did not do enough to help community governments improve their delivery of some essential services. For example, the Department was aware that many community governments had inadequate waste management practices, such as improper handling and storage of hazardous waste by untrained operators, but it did not do enough to help them manage the problem. Similarly, it did little to help community governments establish well-functioning fire protection services with enough trained firefighters and proper fire equipment.

The NWT Community Government Accountability Framework, which the Department established to monitor how community governments were delivering services, significantly advanced accountability and transparency by requiring community governments to report annually on their essential service delivery. However, the framework did not provide enough quality information for the Department to determine whether its support was aligned with communities’ most pressing needs. Nor did the Department use other available monitoring mechanisms to fill this information gap.

We also found that the Department did not take adequate action to mitigate risks specific to the delivery of essential services in designated authority communities. While the Department was aware that certain designated authority communities had difficulty in delivering some essential services, it could not step in to help because the contribution agreements it put in place to fund these services did not specify when it could do so. Without intervention measures in such contribution agreements, the delivery of essential services and the Department’s funding for those services is at risk.

This is important because the Department’s support is necessary for many communities to improve their essential service delivery, particularly in areas such as fire protection and waste management. Adequate support and community engagement are key to helping ensure community governments have the capacity they need to provide residents with quality essential services critical to their health and safety.

• The Department did not adequately support community governments in providing essential services to residents

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should formally assess its information gaps with respect to water quality testing and use the information to work with community governments and the Department of Health and Social Services to identify and provide communities with the required types of support to comply with water testing requirements. It should also work with community governments to ensure that all water treatment plant operators receive the required training and support to obtain the appropriate certification.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, should work with community governments to help identify and provide the necessary support and capacity building, so that they can comply with regulatory and other waste management requirements. This should include:

  • support needed by each community government to comply with the water licence that regulates the management of solid waste sites and sewage lagoons; and
  • support needed by community governments to ensure proper management of solid waste sites, and proper handling and disposal of hazardous waste.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should take immediate action to reassess whether communities with fire departments meet requirements under the Safety Act. For those fire departments that do not, it should work with community governments to establish a plan to assist them in meeting requirements. For community governments without fire departments, the Department should work with them to develop a strategy for fire safety.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should work with community governments to provide the required supports, so that all communities have current emergency plans and receive training to implement these plans.

• The Department’s accountability framework was limited by its design and implementation

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should regularly review and modify (as required) the wording of the questions in the NWT Community Government Accountability Framework to ensure community governments can correctly answer them.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should develop clear guidance for community government officials to complete and Department officials to assess the NWT Community Government Accountability Framework’s performance indicator checklists. The guidance should explain the criteria for each question and provide community governments with clear guidance on how to respond appropriately to each question.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should develop a strategy to verify the accuracy of information from community governments under the NWT Community Government Accountability Framework, in order to support meaningful engagement with community governments on required supports and foster accurate decision making about its departmental operations.

• The Department did not use contribution agreements to fill information gaps in community governments’ essential services delivery

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should identify standard performance information for essential services that could be required under its contribution agreements. It should also follow a risk-based approach to identifying those higher-risk communities for which more frequent information should be provided.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should review its monitoring mechanisms—notably contribution agreements and the NWT Community Government Accountability Framework—to determine how to use them more thoroughly to facilitate ongoing engagement with community governments. This would help provide community governments with required and timely support for essential services. The Department should also continue to develop tools aimed at identifying and collecting information critical for community government support.

• The Department did not adequately address risks specific to designated authority communities

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ contribution agreements with designated authorities should include provisions related to the delivery of essential services it funds, to allow it to collect required performance information and take corrective action when these essential services are at risk.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should consult with Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to determine how the two organizations could work more effectively together to strengthen community governance in designated authority communities.

Capacity development for community governments

Overall, we found that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ School of Community Government offered a range of training to community governments, but some of its courses were neither kept up to date nor periodically reviewed to ensure they met the needs of the community governments they were meant to serve. Opportunities to make training more accessible to community governments, such as online learning, had not been extensively offered or incorporated into the curriculum delivery.

This is important because the Department’s mandate is to help local governments develop their own expertise in managing their communities’ essential services. The School is one of their few options for acquiring these skills within the territory. Without up-to-date and more accessible programs, community governments may lack the necessary knowledge to manage and provide essential services.

• The Department identified and provided training to community governments, but its effectiveness was at risk

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should formally assess how it identifies training needs for community governments, as well as the suite of training offered, to ensure that it continues to help community governments meet their needs and develop the required capacity to deliver essential services.

  Recommendation. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs should explore the use of distance education and partnership opportunities with educational institutions and other organizations as appropriate, to maximize the delivery of its programming.

Entity Responses to Recommendations

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs agrees with our recommendations, and has responded (see List of Recommendations).

Related Information

Report of the	Auditor General of Canada
Type of product	Performance audit
Audited entities	Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (NWT)
Completion date	24 August 2016
Tabling date	25 October 2016
Related audits	Reports to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly

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