Office of the Auditor General of Canada 2020–21 Departmental Results Report

Press Release

Message from the Auditor General of Canada

The climate of uncertainty and unanticipated obstacles that came about as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) pandemic were a challenge for everyone. The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) juggled daily challenges and continued to deliver results for parliamentarians, the northern legislatures, and the boards of Crown corporations, as well as for Canadians. This achievement is a proud moment for me and for those I work with—now remotely—every day.

Over the past year, we continued to flesh out the 3‑year strategic plan announced by Sylvain Ricard, former Interim Auditor General of Canada, in our 2020–21 Departmental Plan. The plan was designed to increase the OAG’s impact and relevance to its clients (parliamentarians, northern legislatures, and boards of Crown corporations), the organizations the OAG audits, its employees, and other stakeholders.

As I indicated in our 2021–22 Departmental Plan, our strategic plan is now supported by vision and mission statements. The work to execute this plan, both internally and with our partners and stakeholders, is ongoing, and we are on our way to bringing together people, expertise, and technology to transform Canada’s future, one audit at a time. I believe that over the last year, I demonstrated to many in government the impact of this vision and the fact that we are a collaborative organization focused on creating value for those we audit, and ultimately for all Canadians who count on public servants to provide them with the programs and services they need. Collectively, it’s about delivering results for all of Canada’s peoples.

Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, this past year has been one of significant growth. With the increase to the OAG’s base funding announced in the Fall Economic Statement 2020, we are in a good position to continue our initiatives to attract, train, and retain new talent to serve in all areas of the organization and to effectively acquire, develop, and use new technologies and methodologies to keep pace with the changing environment and to respond to the needs of Parliament.

A significant addition to the OAG was the appointment in February 2021 of Jerry DeMarco as the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Jerry is a leading Canadian expert in the field of environmental policy and law, and his years of experience will bring invaluable insights to our work on sustainable development and environmental issues.

Part of the Commissioner’s mandate is to monitor how we and all of government promote sustainable development. Goal 16 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals focuses on strengthening government institutions, and we are doing our part to make that happen in a meaningful way. We are contributing to advancing the goals by better integrating them across our audit work and reporting, with the aim of beginning to mainstream this approach across the government. This is supported through refined audit methodology, and increased awareness and knowledge of the goals among our audit professionals. Our own commitments to contributing to the advancement of the goals are outlined in the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Office of the Auditor General of Canada—2020–2023.

Another area of increased focus over the past year is diversity and inclusion. I committed this past year to ensuring that gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) considerations are also incorporated into our audit work, so that we may provide elected officials and all Canadians with objective information on the government’s progress on its priority of equity, diversity, and inclusion. We have also taken actions within the OAG to support diversity and inclusion. In March 2021, the OAG’s Executive Committee released a statement of action, which commits us to identify and address racism, biases, and discrimination in the workplace.

The OAG’s success is the result of our people—they come together across the OAG to make our work count, whether under normal circumstances or challenging ones such as those brought about by the COVID‑19 pandemic. I’m grateful to all of my colleagues, across audit operations and services, for achieving on a daily basis the results that form the foundation for this report. I’m also grateful for the collaborative spirit shown by the public servants we engage with in conducting our work, recognizing that the audits we’ve conducted over the last year often involved organizations that were also on the front lines helping Canadians navigate the pandemic. Together, we are able to bring forward information that government organizations can use to improve their day-to-day work and that parliamentarians and members of the northern legislatures can use to influence meaningful change for all of Canada’s peoples.

[Original signed by]

Karen Hogan, Fellow Chartered Professional AccountantFCPA, Fellow Chartered AccountantFCA
Auditor General of Canada
26 October 2021

Read More: https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/acc_rpt_e_43875.html

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