The Department of Health spent more than $200 million on a pandemic-era program that relied on untrained staff and offered minimal oversight, according to an internal report.Auditors largely depended on grant recipients to verify whether funds were used appropriately.According to Blacklock's Reporter, the report evaluated $206.3 million disbursed through the Safe Restart Agreement Contribution Program, which provided funding to local authorities for Covid research, testing, tracing, and distribution of test kits. Millions in grants were quickly approved without thorough review, the evaluation found.“The program was established at a time when there was limited knowledge about the duration of the pandemic and the nature of the associated federal response,” the report said. “This uncertainty and the evolving needs of the response left limited capacity for robust oversight.”The program funded 28 projects through 34 agreements with 25 non-provincial recipients and provided support for 24 initiatives across all provinces and territories. Its flexibility allowed $31.7 million to be allocated within six weeks. Recipients included the University of British Columbia ($384,626), Greater Toronto Airport Authority ($457,745), Manitoba Métis Federation ($1 million), University of Regina ($1.2 million), and Canadian Chamber of Commerce ($9.4 million)..Auditors criticized the department for staffing the program with employees who lacked grant management experience. “Program delivery faced challenges due to high turnover rates, uncertainty about the length of the pandemic, minimal staffing levels, and staff lacking grant management experience or training,” the report said. By the program’s third year, most original staff had left, replaced by personnel with little capacity to administer large and complex projects.Officials mostly relied on recipients who had previously qualified for grants under pre-pandemic programs to ensure funds were spent appropriately. This approach led to inconsistent reporting and limited the government’s ability to assess the program’s outcomes.“The program, while successful, experienced challenges and limitations that were a result of the speed at which it had been established and its expedited schedule,” the report said. It cited the lack of clear proposal assessment criteria, absence of a comprehensive performance measurement framework, and staff inexperience as key issues.Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the initiative as an example of “Team Canada” leadership, stating at the time that safely restarting the economy required collaboration with provinces and territories to keep Canadians safe.
