Government agencies under fire in auditor general’s annual report

Ontario Works, Metrolinx and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority were among the provincial bodies that came under fire at Queen’s Park Wednesday as Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk tabled her annual report.

The Auditor General’s Office did 15 value for money audits over the past year, digging deep into various government agencies to determine whether they are spending their budgets wisely.

Lysyk says the current government has corrected the accounting practices she criticized under Kathleen Wynne’s watch.

“Our government received a clean audit for the first time in three years,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Treasury Board President.

The Auditor General says the most troubling finding was that the Technical Standards and Safety Authority wasn’t ensuring safety, for example, this year 80 per cent of elevators failed inspections.

“This is a call to action, I’m concerned about the auditors findings. I’ve asked the board to give me a letter by 2019,” said Bill Walker, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.

The auditor found only about 10 per cent of Ontario Works recipients left the program for a job, but NDP leader Andrea Horwath is concerned about changes that will make it more difficult to receive disability and Ontario works supports.