Province's auditor general already contemplating review of COVID-19 response

Nova Scotia's auditor general said Tuesday his office has already started thinking about a review of the province's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The office last looked at Nova Scotia's pandemic preparedness 11 years ago.

Michael Pickup said it would be useful to re-examine the issue.

"An audit office wants to be relevant to the legislature," he said. "Obviously, we try to pick audits that are risk-based, and that add value, and have impact.

"And certainly we're seeing that already happen, at a different pace, in different parts of the country."

Last report during H1N1

The last report was tabled in 2009 when the world was in the grips of the H1N1 pandemic. Jacques Lapointe, the auditor general at the time, made 33 recommendations on how to improve what was in place.

Pickup said the federal government has directed its auditor general's office to examine preparations for the pandemic and to evaluate the response. P.E.I. has done the same.

But it's unclear when auditors would begin their work.

"One has to be sensible on these things," said Pickup. "You're looking at what is happening. You're looking at preparedness. You're looking at a lot of things, but keeping in mind that we can't get in the way of what is happening in terms of government delivering health care and dealing with the pandemic."

Pickup said his office already had plenty on its plate.

Audits delayed

It was completing required government and agency audits, as well as putting the finishing touches on three performance audits for the Nova Scotia legislature, that were due to be completed by the end of May. They likely won't be released until July.

Those reports will look at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Centre redevelopment plans and Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation operations.

They will also take a close look at contaminated sites across Nova Scotia. A recent look at the issue raised concerns that required a more detailed assessment about how the province is dealing with those sites.

In a report due last month, but released Tuesday, auditors looked at how well the provincial government and other bodies were dealing with previous recommendations from the office.

Pickup said he was pleased overall with the way the Nova Scotia government is following through on the advice, but he expressed concerns with the number of 2016 recommendations not yet completed, including advice aimed at homes for special care and species at risk.

He took particular exception to the completion rate in reports his office tabled in June and November 2016. A total of 13 recommendations out of 43 remain unfulfilled.

In a video message posted along with his compliance report, Pickup called the rate "disappointing."

'This rate should be higher'

"After three years since the [audits] were completed this rate should be higher," he said.

He singled out the Department of Lands and Forestry, formerly known as Natural Resources. It had completed just 20 per cent of the recommendations from the 2016 audit of Species at Risk.

The report stated that Lands and Forestry had not completed four recommendations:

• establish recovery teams, and develop and review recovery and management plans for species at risk, as required under the Endangered Species Act.

• review all species listed in the Endangered Species Regulations and amend or develop appropriate practices, as guided by recovery plans, to protect their habitat.

• create a comprehensive monitoring program for all species at risk and ensure monitoring activities are clearly communicated and completed as planned.

• establish detailed action plans with measurable outcomes to implement its biodiversity strategy. Plans should specify what needs to be done, when and expected results.

"There is a risk that, by not completing these recommendations, endangered species are not properly monitored and conserved," said Pickup in his report.