Over 17,300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses procured by the federal government have expired, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The figure was revealed in response to an Inquiry of Ministry by Conservative MP Kelly Block on April 25, in which she asked how many COVID-19 vaccine doses procured by the federal government had been…

The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) says it will not be investigating a donation made to the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation by donors linked to Beijing because the amount and private nature of the funds put them outside the office’s authority. “This decision is based on the scope of the Auditor General’s authority under…

The federal auditor general’s office says it is still “assessing” its mandate as it relates to a request from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation to investigate its handling of two donations with possible links to the Chinese government. The foundation’s interim board chair wrote to the office last week, saying it would welcome an investigation…

Verifying billions of COVID-19 wage subsidy claims that the Auditor General previously said could be ineligible is not “worth the effort,” says Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Commissioner Bob Hamilton. Hamilton appeared as a witness on Jan. 26 before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts alongside Auditor General Karen Hogan, where both faced questions…

Auditor General Karen Hogan told MPs on a parliamentary committee Thursday that foreign vessels without transponders can travel undetected through Canada’s Arctic because of “gaps” in surveillance technology and resources. “Does Canada possess the capability to track a vessel that is without a transponder throughout the entire Arctic?” Conservative MP Pat Kelly asked Hogan during a…

About $1 billion worth of unused COVID-19 vaccines in Canada are set to expire by the end of 2022 due to an excess supply previously acquired by the federal government, wrote Auditor General Karen Hogan in a performance audit tabled today in the House of Commons. “We found that the Public Health Agency of Canada…

Auditor General Karen Hogan says $4.6 billion of the federal government’s previous COVID-19 relief payments were collected by recipients who didn’t meet the eligibility criteria, and at least another $27.4 billion went to individuals whose eligibility status still requires confirmation. Hogan’s office wrote in a performance audit tabled in the House of Commons on Dec. 6 that the…

Auditor general Karen Hogan says the federal government doesn’t know if its initiatives aimed at reducing chronic homelessness are actually working. In a new report, Hogan says no organization has taken the lead on the federal government’s goal of reducing chronic homelessness by 50 percent by 2028. The report says Infrastructure Canada and Employment and…

OTTAWA—A withered Public Health Agency of Canada dithered on pandemic preparedness, the federal auditor general has concluded, leaving officials no choice but to scramble to respond to COVID-19. And if such a scramble is to be avoided in the future, auditor general Karen Hogan found, it’s time for an independent review of the eternal Canadian…