December 02, 2024 at 11:52AM EST -- The Canadian government rolled out C$49 billion in loans to businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic without “due regard for value for money,” the country’s auditor general said.
But while the government moved swiftly to support struggling businesses, the initiative was plagued by “poor program management and oversight failure,” Hogan’s office said in a news release. The government corporation “prioritized quick implementation of program changes by relying on sole-source contracts with a single vendor without strong checks and balances in place,” the auditor said. It relied on Accenture to administer the program and used “a series of non-competitive contracts,” which ultimately resulted in the company awarding a major contract to one of its own subsidiaries.
The auditor general also slammed Global Affairs Canada and the Finance Department for failing to “effectively” oversee CEBA, saying “neither department took accountability for the program, leaving many basic program elements, such as life cycle planning, either delayed or incomplete.” Still, the report’s findings offer further evidence of the consequences of the speedy rollout of the pandemic-era loan and compensation programs. Combined with other direct transfers to individuals, it’s increasingly clear that some spending went to business owners and workers who shouldn’t have received the funds in the first place.