Canada’s spending watchdog will table seven reports today — taking stock of progress made in closing socioeconomic gaps on First Nations reserves and of the effects of federal programs to boost employment for Indigenous people.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson will report on how well Employment and Social Development Canada has managed the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy and the Skills and Partnership Fund, programs designed to increase the number of Indigenous people getting jobs and to help them stay employed.
Statistical reports have shown a significant economic gap exists between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous population in terms of income, education and training.
Ferguson also will release his second audit of the trouble-prone Phoenix pay system and assess how well the government does in helping Canadians in trouble abroad.
In another report to be tabled in Parliament today, Ferguson will gauge the government’s efforts to shed surplus goods and equipment in a way that maximizes financial gain and minimizes environmental pain.
Auditors reviewed selected federal organizations to determine if they are maximizing benefits by selling off items for the best return, reusing and refurbishing assets that still have life left in them, donating goods to organizations in need and disposing of other items in an environmentally sustainable way.
Individual departments set up their own processes for disposing of surplus; large departments like National Defence have processes different from those at smaller departments.
Public Services and Procurement Canada also has a website to sell off a range of items — everything from farm equipment, furniture and hand tools to cars, boats and airplanes. It also sells forfeited goods seized by law enforcement agencies, including jewelry, collectors’ items and appliances.
Other reports being tabled today studied:
- the efficiency of the military justice system, including whether the Canadian Armed Forces processes cases in a timely way;
- how well Infrastructure Canada managed Montreal’s Champlain Bridge project in terms of delivering a durable bridge on budget and on time.