Auditor general takes Harper gov’t to task

Canada’s auditor general isn’t backing down from his criticism of the Harper government.

Michael Ferguson’s latest report was tabled in the house of commons today, with a focus on aboriginal issues and employment insurance. Here are some of the highlights.

Truth and Reconciliation

Time is running out for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to meet its July 2014 mandate of creating a historical record of the native residential school system. Ferguson says aboriginal and northern affairs and the commission haven’t made much headway because they can’t agree on basic things like what documents are needed, and what time period should be covered. Library and Archives Canada estimates it will take $40 million dollars and 10 years to find and digitize all the required records.

Diabetes rising

The government’s plan to tackle the rising rates of diabetes – especially on first nations reserves – aren’t seeing results. He says Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have spent millions of dollars in isolation, with little progress.

Employment insurance

The report calls for the Human Resources department to tighten up the way it goes after EI overpayments. The auditor general says the system loses more than $100 million a year to fraud and misrepresentation.

Search and rescue

The report also looks at the troubled national search-and-rescue system run by the Canadian Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard. The system faces aging equipment and a shortage of pilot and flight engineers. Ferguson says the system is doing OK right now, but will likely face sustainability problems in the future.

The government has agreed with all the auditor general’s recommendations, and aboriginal affairs says it will comply with the court order to provide residential schools documentation.