PACP Committee Report

OPINION – LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA

Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts do not contest any of the main points contained in the report. They are also in agreement with all the recommendations inside the report.

However, Liberal members take issue with the conclusion as being incomplete, by omitting key elements of the testimonies made in front the committee.

The COVID-19 programs were a significant contributive factor in preventing Canada from a more severe contraction of its economy due to the pandemic, the majority report‘s conclusion does not reflect that very critical fact.

a) This reality was acknowledged by the OAG in their audit; the COVID-19 programs did accomplish the objectives the government had set during the pandemic, at a time of incredible financial and emotional stress for Canadians. She recognized that the vast majority individuals from the groups that were most impacted by the pandemic were able to benefit from these programs.

b) As cited in the section "Support for Canada’s Economic Recovery" of the majority report, the COVID-19 programs, the COVID-19 programs helped avoid the economic and social consequences of a significant increase in poverty due to the income losses caused by the pandemic. The OAG equally concluded that this financial support allowed the economy to rebound and return to its pre-pandemic level. (1)

Furthermore, the majority report’s conclusion completely omits the testimony made by the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in response to the OAG’s reported amounts in overpayments to ineligible recipients of benefits for individuals.

• a)      On behalf of the CRA, the Commissioner has cautioned the Committee that the OAG’s estimations remained projections and could be overestimated.
• b)      During his testimony, the Commissioner confirmed that the CRA has conducted post-pandemic audits earlier this year, which have revealed that the vast majority of the amounts reported by the OAG had being made to recipients who were in fact later determined to be eligible.

The Liberal members of the Committee thus believe the report's conclusion should reflect the complete picture of the OAG’s audit report, together with the response from the CRA. However this is not the case. Instead, the majority report rejected these considerations to the detriment of the context of the programs and the completeness of the report.

Therefore, Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts must dissent with the conclusion of the majority report.

1. OAG, Specific COVID-19 Benefits, Report 10 of the 2022 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, para. 10.23.