Auditor General Michael Ferguson has found problems with the federal government's plans to expand Canadian prisons, with agreements to provide for First Nations policing and with management of money set aside to develop the North.
In his spring 2014 report tabled Tuesday in Parliament, Ferguson found Canada isn't saving as much as expected from shutting down two prison facilities and is spending money to expand others that are in poor condition, requiring upgrades.
Ferguson will discuss his report at 11:30 a.m. ET. CBCnews.ca will carry his press conference live.
He also found:
- There's little input from First Nations in the First Nations policing program. It's also being used in some cases to replace core policing services the provinces should be providing. And, in some cases, the policing buildings don't comply with fire and building codes.
- The $152-billion public-sector pension plan needs better risk assessment and planning. The Department of Finance says it does that assessment, but wouldn't share it with the auditor general, citing cabinet confidence.
- The $52-million Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency isn't properly monitoring the money it hands out and doesn't collect enough information from recipients to know whether they're complying with the terms of their agreements.
- Statistics Canada provides good national numbers, but has a harder time breaking out data for small geographic areas and population breakdowns.
- The process to find a moving company for civil servants is inefficient, with the government sending a request for proposals before drawing up its plan to find the service provider.
Transfer costs more than double
Canada's penitentiaries will be over capacity again soon after the current round of expansions is complete, Ferguson says in his report.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson has found that federal prisons will again be over capacity in a few years despite thousands of new beds being added. His spring report also raises questions about the Treasury Board's oversight of the Public Sector pension plan. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
More than 2,000 new cells were to be added by last month, but inmates are likely to be double-bunking again within a few years of the end of construction as they reach or exceed capacity again, it says. Auditors were told Correctional Service Canada hasn't finalized plans to address the shortfall.
But the way the new cells are being added is increasing transfer costs, the audit found.
Public Safety Canada expanded prisons with available land already within the existing secure perimeters, so auditors found that the expansions weren't proportionate to the expected increases. That has meant increased cost to move prisoners around.
Corrections nearly doubled the number of offenders transferred from Ontario and prairie prisons to the Pacific and Atlantic regions, leading to more than double the cost — from $1.5 million in 2010-2011 to $3.4 million in the first nine months of 2013.
Canadian penitentiaries held 14,200 offenders in 2009, and that increased to 15,224 by March 2013, close to the government's projection of 15,270. At the same time that there were more than 15,000 inmates, there were only 14,807 cells to accommodate them. The completed construction is expected to house 16,700 inmates in single cells.
The government closed three institutions in 2013:
- Kingston Penitentiary.
- Ontario's Regional Treatment Centre.
- The Leclerc Institution in Quebec.
Auditors found that while the government projected the closures would save $120 million a year, the savings are only $86 million a year.
Public Works found lacking
Paying to relocate employees costs the government about $300 million a year. In 2009, Public Works awarded the contract to cover the approximately 17,700 Armed Forces, RCMP and public servant moves, known as the Integrated Relocation Program, to Brookfield Global Relocation Services Ltd.
Auditors found Public Works knew its decision to award one big contract rather than a series of smaller ones meant that Brookfield was the only company in Canada that would be able to manage it, eliminating any chance of domestic competition for the contract.
The audit also found that the team evaluating the proposals didn't leave a paper trail for its decision to award the contract, noting the team didn't "write down their comments or rationales justifying the scores they assigned for each criterion and for how they arrived at the final aggregate score."
The department manages moving services for civil servants who relocate, as well as the Canadian Forces and the RCMP.
This isn't the first time Public Works has had its knuckles rapped over contracting out moving services. In 2006, the auditor general found that contracts tendered in 2004 hadn't been done fairly. A House of Commons committee upheld that conclusion in 2007.
Most Can-Nor staff in Ottawa
Auditors found even more administrative problems at the agency created to deliver cash to the North.
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, also known as CanNor, is a weak administrator, the audit found, taking an average of nine months to process funding applications and sign them. That leaves little time for recipients to spend the money before the funding lapses.
But the agency also doesn't monitor whether recipients are complying with their funding agreements, and it hasn't measured or reported on whether its programs are hitting objectives, the audit said.
The audit also noted that although the head office is supposed to be in Iqaluit, almost 35 per cent of its employees are still located in Ottawa, with 30 per cent in Iqaluit.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Auditor general finds prison expansions aren't keeping pace
Dengan url
http://beritaluarindo.blogspot.com/2014/05/auditor-general-finds-prison-expansions.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Auditor general finds prison expansions aren't keeping pace
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Auditor general finds prison expansions aren't keeping pace
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar