AG report more evidence of a Liberal government more taken with grand visions than actual governing

John Ivison

The performance audits of government programs unveil shortcomings that most emergent nations would kill to have

Another day, another dumpster fire.

The release of the interim Auditor General’s report Tuesday has given the opposition parties five new avenues from which to assault this beleaguered Liberal government.

The performance audits of government programs unveil shortcomings that most emergent nations would kill to have. Not being able to reach an agent at a government call centre or having a sales tax system that is unable to keep pace with the evolving digital market are first-world problems, to be sure.

But we are five months away from a general election and each chapter of interim auditor Sylvain Ricard’s report is a damning indictment of the government’s lack of command of the details of governing — as if the actual running of the country is less important than setting bold visions.

In at least two cases, the problems are less a matter of neglect than the direct consequence of weak and wrong-headed decisions.

Let’s take the report in order of egregiousness — from clown-car policy to the merely careless.

It will come as no surprise that the Liberal government’s inept handling of the asylum seeker issue has had an effect similar to closing Highway 401 in rush-hour: system gridlock.

Let’s take the report in order of egregiousness — from clown-car policy to the merely careless

Canada’s refugee determination system was reformed in 2012, after the backlog reached 59,000 cases. New timelines for processing asylum cases were introduced — for most claimants, within 60 days. The system was funded to process 22,500 claims per year. But the surge of asylum seekers who crossed into Quebec from the U.S. saw the number of claims rise to 55,000 in 2018. As a result, fewer than 20 per cent of claimants received protection decisions within the required 60 days. By December 2018, there was a backlog of 71,380 claims.

The government has thrown money at the problem promising in the March budget to spend $1.18 billion over five years to attempt to process 50,000 claims a year. But that pledge will require much improved productivity from the agencies involved — Canada Border Services Agency, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board, which continues to rely almost exclusively on paper files for its work and which shares its thoughts with other organizations by sending faxes.

While there is clearly a bureaucratic logjam, the real blame lies in government policy. The Liberals created the problem because getting tough with refugees was not on-brand — even when it became clear that the lax Canadian system was being played by economic migrants flying into the U.S. from countries like Nigeria.

If Canadians are not mad about the border, chances are they are upset if they have ever tried to contact their government.

The interim AG looked at call centres operated by Employment and Social Development Canada (which handles Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security), Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada and Veterans Affairs Canada.

full story at https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-auditor-general-report-more-evidence-of-a-liberal-government-more-taken-with-grand-visions-than-actual-governing