The report of the Auditor General of Québec is tabled in the National Assembly - Press Release no. 1

QUÉBEC, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Ms. Guylaine Leclerc, Auditor General, makes public the Fall 2016 Volume. It includes six chapters.

Observations of the Auditor General (Chapter 1)

In this chapter, Ms. Leclerc takes a look at the place that information technology holds within the Government of Québec. She also gives an overview of the work performed by other legislative auditors.

Commission des partenaires du marché du travail: Workforce Development Needs (Chapter 2)

After 19 years of existence, the Commission is not fully playing its expected role as the national organization responsible for defining workforce development needs. In fact, the action priorities established by the Commission are based on an incomplete picture of those needs. Moreover, its interventions are insufficient to ensure that the measures its partners put in place effectively meet the priority needs that it identified.

Administrative Management of CEGEPs (Chapter 3)

Activities included in the contract management process of the audited CEGEPs are not carried out rigorously. Cost overruns and non-compliance with certain deadlines and with regulations were observed. The management of self-funded services, which are services of a commercial nature that are offered to students and external customers, also contains deficiencies. Thus, in certain cases, the financial information relating to self-funded services does not allow decision makers to assess whether partnerships are profitable. In addition, nearly 40% of the agreements relating to self-funded services that we analyzed were imprecise or lacked significant related elements, which can increase financial risks for CEGEPs.

Hydro-Québec: Procurement Process for Specialized Services and Other Work (Chapter 4)

Hydro-Québec has a procurement process for specialized services and other work that is generally aligned with good practices and in accordance with the regulations. However, improvements are needed at certain steps of the process. Firstly, the procedure leading to the qualification of suppliers should be more formalized. For example, Hydro-Québec does not perform any controls to ensure that qualified suppliers continue to meet the qualification requirements over time. In addition, Hydro-Québec should refine the cost estimate of certain acquisitions. In fact, differences of more than 15% were observed between the estimated value of the acquisition and the lowest tender in 54% of 2015 acquisition files. Furthermore, proposals received electronically are opened for validation and classification purposes before the date and time set, and their contents could have been consulted.

Correctional Services: Reintegration (Chapter 5)

Several deficiencies remain with regard to the Ministère de la Sécurité publique's reintegration process. The Department does not always ensure that offenders or accused persons follow the best pathway, which could slow down their progress in terms of reintegration. Assessments of offenders or accused persons are missing from files, and many are produced late. Moreover, the completion of several assessments and intervention plans lacks rigour. Furthermore, the Department's efforts to monitor the progress of offenders and accused persons are insufficient. Therefore, it cannot assess the achievement of intervention plan objectives and make adjustments, if necessary. Finally, the Department does not have yet a unique file for each offender or accused person, even though the Corbo report recommended it more than 15 years ago.

Follow-Up of a Performance Audit – Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation: Contracts Presenting Risk Situations (Chapter 6)

The Department has made significant efforts to correct the deficiencies identified during the initial mission, published in May 2015. In fact, 8 of the 10 recommendations made regarding the management of contracts presenting risk situations are applied or result in satisfactory progress.

The Highlights are available at www.vgq.qc.ca. The full report and the videos presenting the work results for Chapters 3 to 5 are available only in French.

Source:

Lucie Roy, Director of Communications Auditor General of Québec Tel.: [phone]

SOURCE Vérificateur Général du Québec

Lucie Roy, Director of Communications, Auditor General of Québec, Tel.: [phone]