Capital Asset Management—Yukon

Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts of the Yukon Legislative Assembly

Capital Asset Management—Yukon

(2017 March Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Yukon Legislative Assembly)

29 June 2017

Michael Ferguson, Chartered Professional AccountantCPA, Chartered AccountantCA
Fellow of the Order of Chartered AccountantsFCA (New Brunswick)
Auditor General of Canada

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to be in Whitehorse today to discuss our report on capital asset management in Yukon. This report was tabled on March 6th in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Joining me today is Casey Thomas, the principal responsible for the audit.

The Department of Highways and Public Works is responsible for maintaining government buildings. It is also responsible for constructing new buildings and for renovating or demolishing existing buildings. Other departments are responsible to help identify maintenance projects for the buildings they occupy, and to pay for those projects.

We found that when the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Social Services made decisions about projects for the buildings they occupy, they considered the costs as well as the health and safety of the people who use the buildings.

Departments need to know the condition of buildings before they decide what needs to be done with them. It has been almost 10 years since we first recommended that the Department of Highways and Public Works assess the government’s buildings to gather this type of information.

We found that the Department had assessed many of the government’s buildings. These assessments identified serious deficiencies, such as major structural problems.

However, we were concerned that departments did not use the assessments because the Department of Highways and Public Works had not verified their accuracy.

We also found that the Department of Highways and Public Works had a process to prioritize maintenance projects that considered health, safety, and cost. Unfortunately, the Department did not always follow this process.

Specifically, we found that of the more than 13 million dollars spent on maintenance in the 2015–16 fiscal year, 6.6 million dollars was spent on projects that the Department had not identified as priorities. As a result, maintenance work that could have waited was completed while some priority projects were not completed. For example, we found that, in 2011, the Department had identified the replacement of a heating fuel tank as a high priority. However, the Department did not replace the tank until 2013, when the tank was leaking.

The government has limited resources to spend on maintaining its buildings. Therefore, it is important that it prioritize building maintenance projects, so that it completes projects with the greatest need first.

In 2007 and 2008, the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board, along with other departments and agencies of the Government of Yukon, led a pilot project for radon testing. We found unresolved issues related to the radon levels found in some of the buildings tested. We recommended that the departments work to resolve these issues, and they have agreed with this recommendation.

Finally, we looked at transportation infrastructure in this audit. The transportation network is essential for many isolated communities, and its maintenance is important for user safety. Overall, we were satisfied with how the Department identified and prioritized risks for this network.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening statement. We would be happy to answer any questions the Committee may have. Thank you.