Advertisement

Atlantic provinces lagging on recommendations in 2016 lottery review: auditors

Nova Scotia Auditor General Michael Pickup.
Nova Scotia Auditor General Michael Pickup. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

Atlantic Canada’s auditors general say that while the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has fully implemented recommendations from a stinging 2016 audit, the four shareholder governments have been slow to respond.

A followup report released today says the governments have completed just 22 per cent of the actions recommended and in particular have failed on two key points.

READ MORE: N.B. auditor report points to closed door spending under the Gallant government

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

They have not taken steps to ensure corporation board members are not elected officials or government employees, and they have not made other public servants on the board non-voting, ex-officio members.

The auditors say failure to implement these recommendations risks impeding the board’s fiduciary duty to the corporation and its “overall effectiveness in providing sound governance.”

READ MORE: Millions of calls to government agencies go unanswered: Auditor General

Further, they say a failure to implement five additional recommendations from 2016 may hinder the corporation’s effectiveness in making timely business decisions and the ability of the provinces to evaluate the corporation’s performance and future sustainability.

Story continues below advertisement

The auditors say they are pleased that all 16 recommendations made to the corporation’s board and management were implemented following the October 2016 report that found it spent thousands of dollars on lavish dinners and Christmas parties, boosted executive salaries and handed out generous perks to politicians.

Sponsored content

AdChoices