OTTAWA – Canada’s auditor general says National Defence should have kept a closer eye on its former watchdog, who extended consultant contracts without proper authorization and approved his own hospitality expense claims.
In a hard-hitting new report, Auditor General Michael Ferguson paints a searing portrait of the office of the Canadian Forces ombudsman, which investigates complaints against the military and the defence department.
The investigation focused on the decisions and conduct of former ombudsman Pierre Daigle, who retired last year and was replaced by Gary Walbourne.
Ferguson says there were no adequate financial, contract or human resources controls in place, and in many cases the office did not comply with its own rules or codes of conduct.
The auditor singled out hidden expense claims that were authorized by Daigle himself instead of the deputy minister, and a consultant contract that started out at $89,000, but was inappropriately extended to $370,000.
Despite the finding, Ferguson says he can find no evidence the former ombudsman personally benefited from the arrangements or the sloppy recordkeeping.
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