2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada—Auditor General releases 2018 Spring Reports

2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of CanadaAuditor General releases 2018 Spring Reports

Ottawa, 29 May 2018—In his 2018 Spring Reports tabled today in Parliament, the Auditor General of Canada, Michael Ferguson, presents the results of seven performance audits of government programs and activities completed by his Office since last fall. The package also includes a message from the Auditor General about government culture, and a roll-up of common issues noted across audits of 13 Crown corporations completed since 2016. The 2018 Spring Reports also include the previously released Commentary on the 2016–2017 Financial Audits as well as copies of the reports of four special examinations of Crown corporations: Canadian Museum of Human Rights, Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, Ridley Terminals incorporatedInc., and Export Development Canada.

The seven performance audit reports delivered by the Auditor General cover the implementation of the Phoenix pay system, the administration of military justice, the replacement of Montréal’s Champlain bridge, how government organizations dispose of their surplus assets, consular services provided to Canadians travelling or living abroad―including those detained or arrested on foreign soil, as well as two reports focusing on socio-economic gaps on First Nations reserves and on employment training for Indigenous people.

In his Message prefacing the Spring Reports, the Auditor General introduces the audits of Phoenix as well as a long history of audits of Indigenous programs to explore why some government programs end in “incomprehensible failures”, and the role the culture of government plays in fostering these failures.

“I want to stress the need for the government and the public service to look at these audits differently, not just as a list of issues we found in different programs, but as symptoms of a much deeper culture issue”, stated Mr. Ferguson. “Departments can implement our recommendations and deal with the symptoms we’ve raised, and that is important. But the real question for the government to think about is why do we keep finding and reporting serious problems, and why do incomprehensible failures still happen?”

The Auditor General of Canada will be holding a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa at 11 am and will be available for interviews after 2 pm.

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The 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada are available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada Web site.

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