Manitoba auditor general blasts provincial government for 'disappointingly low' uptake of recommendations
Only 20 of 209 recommendations made in past years implemented as of September 2022, auditor general says
Manitoba's auditor general is calling out the provincial government for failing to put into place recommendations from years-old reports, including an audit into a quarry rehabilitation project that was suspended over financial irregularities.
Of 209 recommendations made in seven reports between 2019 and 2020, only 20 — or roughly 10 per cent — had been implemented as of Sept. 30, 2022, Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo said in a Tuesday news release.
"While that's consistent with previous years, I think it's disappointingly low," he told CBC in an interview.
"It's been two years and even longer that some of these programs have known about the recommendations or the audit, so the expectation is that the implementation rate would be somewhat higher."
No progress was made on any of the recommendations made in two 2020 reports — one on an investigation into the province's quarry rehabilitation program, and another on the oversight of post-secondary institutions.
The quarry rehabilitation report, issued in May 2020, was done after the program was suspended in 2018 following the discovery of financial irregularities.
Shtykalo's office found the program had weak oversight, poor internal controls over levy collection and royalty revenue, and many administrative deficiencies, including not following best practices for tendering work.
The post-secondary report found the provincial government doesn't have an overall strategy for its post-secondary system, and monitoring of post-secondary institutions was weak.
The audit also found that communication processes between government and the institutions' governing boards needed to be improved.
Shtykalo acknowledged that the pandemic caused challenges for government, but said he expected to see more progress implementing the recommendations.
"My office strives to promote government accountability and public administration excellence for all Manitobans. And the primary way we do that is through our audit work and our recommendations," Shtykalo said Tuesday.
"When our recommendations are not acted on, we are unable to achieve our desired impact."
Other reports saw a low uptake on recommendations, Shtykalo pointed out.
One on commercial vehicle safety released in December 2019 had a 29 per cent implementation rate, while another on provincial oversight of drinking water safety released in September 2020 had 32 per cent of its recommendations completed.
A spokesperson for the Progressive Conservative government said in an email that the province respects the independent authority, transparency and recommendations of the auditor general and will review the recent report in detail to address the highlighted concerns.
MLA Adrien Sala, the finance critic for the Opposition NDP, said in an emailed statement that the delays in implementing the recommendations are a byproduct of government mismanagement and high turnover in the premier's office and caucus.