N.S. auditor general says province must act faster on her office's recommendations

Nova Scotia Auditor General Kim Adair says the province needs to speed up the implementation of her recommendations.

While the provincial government implemented 92 per cent of the recommendations made in 2018, its progress fell to 61 per cent in 2019 and 35 per cent in 2020, Adair said in her report released Tuesday.

"If recommendations aren't completed, the same issues will persist and expose government to continued risks, including public-safety risks," Adair said.

Regarding her office's report for 2020, the province's followup rate is one of the worst in nearly two decades, she added, noting the government has said publicly the agreed-upon time frame to complete any set of recommendations is two years.

Five recommendations from her 2018 report are outstanding, she said, adding they should have been addressed by now. "We encourage all organizations to work toward the timely completion of every recommendation we make, to help promote better government for all Nova Scotians."

Twenty-eight recommendations out of 46 made in 2019 have been adopted, while seven of 20 recommendations made in 2020 have been implemented, Adair said.

She flagged concerns about two performance audits from 2019 and 2020 — one about bridge-project management and the other regarding the multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.

Her report said the Department of Public Works has completed just one of seven recommendations from the 2019 bridge audit. Most pointedly, Adair said the department still needed to ensure that bridge inspections are completed as required and that it should use consistent criteria to prioritize which bridges need repair and replacement.

"By not completing these recommendations, the department might not identify the highest priority bridge repair projects, and safety concerns may not be identified and addressed in a timely manner," Adair said.

As of October 2022, the department said it had hired a maintenance planner and had estimated that new software with complete and accurate information about bridges should be operational by December 2023.

Meanwhile, Adair said that also as of October of last year the Department of Public Works still hadn't implemented a contract management process for the new Halifax hospital, nor had it completed a master plan for the project.

In its response, the department said a preliminary design for the hospital would be ready by April 2024, adding it was confident the final project would respond fully to patient needs.