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Here are some of the highlights of the provincial auditor general’s annual report to the legislature:
- Eighty per cent of cannabis sales remain in the black market despite the existence of the province’s Ontario Cannabis Store online and a network of approved, privately owned brick-and-mortar stores.
- GO Trains are delayed “more often than necessary” by information technology glitches at Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency, and the organization doesn’t consistently test critical information technology systems for security weaknesses, which has resulted in two significant security breaches in the past five years.
- Metrolinx and the Ministry of Transportation were long aware the Hamilton LRT would cost more than the publicly stated $1 billion, a figure that only included construction, and the $5.5 billion estimate released prior to the government cancelling the project was “reasonable.”
- Expansion of virtual medical care was slow until COVID-19 arrived, but better checks are needed with one doctor billing for 321 patients in one day. That’s the equivalent of 40 hourly in an eight-hour day.
- The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs does not lead or co-ordinate programs across all ministries in government and was “not aware” of all the programs offered to support Indigenous peoples at the time of the audit.
- There is no formal process at the Ministry of Education for updating school curricula, leading to “outdated” guidelines for teachers.
- Almost a decade after it was formed, the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority has no benchmarks for performance of Ontario’s 770 homes with 58,000 residents.
- More consumer protection is needed in the bereavement industry, where prices for services and products such as coffins can vary widely for the same items from one funeral home to another.
- Ontario hospitals and Canadian Blood Services don’t share information on which blood products are used, making it harder to manage supply and demand and leading to shortages at times.
- The Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum and McMichael Canadian Art Collection do not display new aquisitions “promptly.”
- Average waits of 8 months for adults with developmental disabilities to be assessed for services are too long.
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