Monitoring of progress and spending was well-managed in three programs
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Ottawa, 22 November 2011—The government did a good job of monitoring progress and spending in three programs funded under the Economic Action Plan (EAP), says John Wiersema, Interim Auditor General of Canada, in his Report tabled today in the House of Commons. The audit focused on three EAP programs, totalling $7 billion. It did not look at the merits of projects or the impact of the EAP on the economy.
“For the three specific programs we audited, the government was diligent in monitoring the progress of projects and their spending,” said Mr. Wiersema. “It also took corrective action as required to ensure projects were completed as intended.”
The audit found that Infrastructure Canada, Industry Canada, and five regional development agencies collected information that enabled them to monitor project progress and take corrective action when needed. It also found that the government’s decision to extend the deadline for many projects to 31 October 2011 was supported by appropriate analysis.
Job creation was a key objective of one of the programs audited. However, data was collected in many different ways, making it difficult for the government to assess how well the objective was achieved.
“The government invested $47 billion in the Economic Action Plan”, said Mr. Wiersema. “It’s important that the government report to Parliament on the overall economic impact of the Plan and the jobs created, as it announced it would do by early 2012.”
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The chapter “Canada’s Economic Action Plan” is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.