Auditor General Karen Hogan has defended giving sole-sourced contracts to a lobbying firm and fed them confidential copies of her audits months before they were available to MPs and senators..“I have taken a look at the contracts,” said Hogan on Thursday to Blacklock’s Reporter..“We followed the contracting rules set out by the government.”.Hogan’s office in 2020 awarded a $24,800 sole-sourced contract to lobbyist Susan Smith of Bluesky Strategy Group Inc. of Ottawa..The value was just below the $25,000 threshold requiring public notice to other bidders. Smith is a former Liberal press aide and co-founder of a Party-affiliated think tank, Canada 2020..Access To Information records showed auditors knowingly skewed a contract for media coaching to just below the $25,000 threshold..“I would recommend the Bluesky contract be put in place for as long as it can within the $25,000 limit,” read one staff email..Terms of the contract were considered so unusual one staffer questioned why Smith was allowed to charge a lump sum without accounting for actual work..“It seems confusing to me that there is no per diem and only a maximum amount,” wrote one aide..Records showed auditors also fed confidential copies of their reports to Smith months before they were tabled in Parliament..Secret copies of audits were emailed to Smith January 8, 2020 but were not publicly released to parliamentarians until July 8.. Federal AG’s office skewed contract, leaked reports to lobbyist .Hogan declined comment when asked if any corrective measures were taken following the disclosures..Hogan’s office had attempted to conceal the records under the Access To Information Act and only released them after Blacklock’s filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner..“Throughout all of our work at the office we often contract out expert advice,” said Hogan..“We do that for many different aspects, and we try to have varied points of views in order to make sure we are covering all the perspectives across the entire country..“We seek advice and views from so many people across the country. We want to make sure we have covered all Canadians when we sit down and talk about our work.”.Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont.), a member of the Commons public accounts committee, earlier said contracting practices by the Auditor General should be scrutinized..“The optics do not appear good,” said Lawrence..“The Auditor General has to be beyond reproach. They are one of the last lines of defence.”.“We stand opposed to sole-sourced contracts. We want fairness and rigour in the system.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
Auditor General Karen Hogan has defended giving sole-sourced contracts to a lobbying firm and fed them confidential copies of her audits months before they were available to MPs and senators..“I have taken a look at the contracts,” said Hogan on Thursday to Blacklock’s Reporter..“We followed the contracting rules set out by the government.”.Hogan’s office in 2020 awarded a $24,800 sole-sourced contract to lobbyist Susan Smith of Bluesky Strategy Group Inc. of Ottawa..The value was just below the $25,000 threshold requiring public notice to other bidders. Smith is a former Liberal press aide and co-founder of a Party-affiliated think tank, Canada 2020..Access To Information records showed auditors knowingly skewed a contract for media coaching to just below the $25,000 threshold..“I would recommend the Bluesky contract be put in place for as long as it can within the $25,000 limit,” read one staff email..Terms of the contract were considered so unusual one staffer questioned why Smith was allowed to charge a lump sum without accounting for actual work..“It seems confusing to me that there is no per diem and only a maximum amount,” wrote one aide..Records showed auditors also fed confidential copies of their reports to Smith months before they were tabled in Parliament..Secret copies of audits were emailed to Smith January 8, 2020 but were not publicly released to parliamentarians until July 8.. Federal AG’s office skewed contract, leaked reports to lobbyist .Hogan declined comment when asked if any corrective measures were taken following the disclosures..Hogan’s office had attempted to conceal the records under the Access To Information Act and only released them after Blacklock’s filed a formal complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner..“Throughout all of our work at the office we often contract out expert advice,” said Hogan..“We do that for many different aspects, and we try to have varied points of views in order to make sure we are covering all the perspectives across the entire country..“We seek advice and views from so many people across the country. We want to make sure we have covered all Canadians when we sit down and talk about our work.”.Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont.), a member of the Commons public accounts committee, earlier said contracting practices by the Auditor General should be scrutinized..“The optics do not appear good,” said Lawrence..“The Auditor General has to be beyond reproach. They are one of the last lines of defence.”.“We stand opposed to sole-sourced contracts. We want fairness and rigour in the system.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter.com/nobby7694
