Auditor general says N.S. making progress on past recommendations, but issues remain

Nova Scotia’s auditor general, Kim Adair, recently released a follow-up report highlighting the provincial government’s progress in implementing recommendations from performance audits conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2022. While the government has shown improvement with an increase in their three-year completion average from 60 to 80 percent, there are still areas that require attention.

According to the report, 70 percent of recommendations from the 2020 audits have been completed, with all recommendations from 2021 fully implemented. However, only 74 percent of the recommendations from 2022 have been completed, indicating that there is still work to be done.

Adair’s report identified several outstanding recommendations that have not been fully implemented. These include:

– Two out of five recommendations from a 2020 audit on contaminated sites, where Public Works has yet to complete an inventory of known and potentially contaminated sites or prioritize them based on risk.
– None of the four recommendations from a 2020 audit on the QEII redevelopment project have been completed, including the need for mitigation strategies and aligning the master plan with user needs.
– Of the 20 recommendations from a 2022 audit on government-owned housing oversight and management, 12 remain incomplete, such as assessing eligibility criteria for housing and implementing a lease renewal process.
– Public Works has not fulfilled five of seven recommendations from a 2019 audit on bridge project quality management in central and western districts.

Despite these outstanding recommendations, the government has assured that work is underway to address them. Public Works, for example, expects to have the majority of recommendations complete later this year.

The release of Adair’s report comes after a controversial move by the Progressive Conservative government to pass legislation that would have given them the power to dismiss the auditor general without cause and suppress parts of her reports. After facing criticism from Adair, opposition MLAs, and the public, Premier Tim Houston backed down from the plan.

Overall, while the government has shown improvement in following up on recommendations, there is still room for growth in ensuring that all recommendations are fully implemented to improve accountability and transparency in Nova Scotia’s governance.