'Albertans need to know': UCP ripped for lack of accounting on $4B in COVID-19 spending
A damning new report from Alberta's auditor general finds government ministries failed to include understandable, relevant and comparable data on COVID-19 in year-end reporting.
"Those are key accountability documents, those ministry annual reports," Doug Wylie said Thursday. "Albertans need to know what was achieved with that money."
Wylie wants to make it clear that no money is missing.
At the same time, he's determined there is insufficient information on what pandemic programs like commercial rent relief, help for cities and towns, and improvements for schools actually accomplished.
"Such things as the number of jobs created. So this was an opportunity where we had to keep the economy going, so how many jobs were created? What was the cost of PPE?" he wondered.
Alberta's former finance minister declined an interview request. In a statement, Travis Toews, who resigned to run for UCP leader, says he tried to improve reporting practices.
“When we were presented with an unprecedented pandemic, we delivered unprecedented levels of support nobody had planned for,” a statement from Toews said.
The NDP believes the government has failed Albertans.
"This is explosive language for a group of accountants," NDP Finance Critic Shannon Phillips said of the findings. "The ultimate check here is not a rule or a law, the ultimate check here is common decency, and respect for democratic institutions."
"Millions in transportation, child care costs, rental assistance, and no reporting on what was actually achieved," added NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.
Wylie's office found some examples of good financial reporting, but it was determined that the ministries of finance, health, education, municipal affairs, seniors and housing, and jobs and the economy all lacked important information in their reports.
The report doesn’t make any recommendations for improvement. Instead, it reemphasizes advice given to the government in 2019.
A treasury board spokesperson told CTV News Edmonton that each ministry is now required to include a dedicated COVID-19 recovery plan section in their annual report.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.