A federal audit has found that two climate programs launched with a promise to create jobs and lower emissions have failed to show any results after seven years and $300 million in spending.Blacklock's Reporter says a report from the says officials stopped collecting key performance data for the Smart Grid Program and the Emerging Renewable Power Program, making it impossible to tell whether the programs delivered any real benefit to taxpayers.“Removing annual reporting increases the risk of poor quality performance information,” said the internal report, which evaluated both initiatives launched in 2018 with $301.38 million in multi-year funding.At the time, then-natural resources minister Jim Carr said the programs would create “well-paying jobs for middle class Canadians” and modernize Canada’s electricity grid. But the new evaluation concluded neither goal was ever verified..The report noted inconsistent and incomplete data collection across projects. “The lack of a consistent approach in how data were reported rendered it impossible to aggregate the results and thus accurately assess the extent to which some of the indicators have been met,” it said.Key metrics — such as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions — were not tracked during the projects’ operation.“These metrics will only be collected in final reporting,” auditors wrote, warning that “it will most likely be too difficult and too late to identify weaknesses or errors and make changes and corrections.”.Funding recipients also submitted incomplete records, with what auditors called “gaps in actual outcomes and results.”The report follows a pattern seen in other federal initiatives. A $950 million Innovation Superclusters program launched in 2017 was touted as a way to create 50,000 jobs, but no job tracking was done. Another program, the $1 billion Strategic Innovation Fund, promised 56,000 jobs but only delivered 6,613, according to internal records.When questioned about job claims in 2019, then-industry minister Navdeep Bains declined to provide answers at the Commons industry committee. “Where can we find that available?” asked MP Brian Masse. Bains replied, “These pertain to the business plans,” refusing to confirm the figures.
