logo
Problems with MCP still linger, a decade after flagging them, says auditor general

Problems with MCP still linger, a decade after flagging them, says auditor general

CBC19-03-2025

Newfoundland and Labrador's auditor general says problems with the province's public medical care plan (MCP) linger on more than a decade after they were first highlighted by her office.
Auditor General Denise Hanrahan's most recent report — which looked at the period between April 2021 to March 31, 2024 — examined if MCP and provincial dental health plan funds were disbursed appropriately.
"Unfortunately, our findings indicate areas of serious concern with the fulfilment of that mandate. What's worse, many of the findings today are the same as our 2014 audit," Hanrahan told reporters on Wednesday.
One of the problems raised to the Department of Health and Community Services included double payments with WorkplaceNL, as well as lingering IT system control problems.
In her report, Hanrahan found a three-year period where physicians and dentists owed the province $2.2 million, and found very little action had been taken to recover it and no recoveries made in 2023.
"I'm not sure that receivable [amount] is an accurate indication of what is owed to the province for the amount of transactions that go through that system," said Hanrahan.
The unpaid money could be due to error or fraud, she said, and the amount is likely higher than what the audit found.
Hanrahan said the frustrating point is that there are tools available that could improve the collection process that are going unused.
"With low productivity and insignificant recoveries, I question the effectiveness of the department's internal audit function as an oversight measure for the MCP program," she said.
Checking in
Hanrahan said she didn't know why the department failed to act on recommendations made a decade ago.
She has made six recommendations in her new report, which touched on addressing an aging technological system, coordinating with WorkplaceNL to prevent double billing, improving money collections and adopting management approvals for adult dental reimbursements.
She also wants the department to ensure its internal audit process is being properly carried out in accordance with legislation, regulations and policy.
As noted in the report, the provincial government has accepted all of Hanrahan's recommendations.
This time around, she signaled she was confident the government would act on those recommendations, saying her office got a good response from the health department and has spoken with the health minister.
"It will cost no money to implement those recommendations. These are about processes, existing staffing, existing systems," she said.
"And my intention in two years is to come back to see where they sit. And in three years I expect 100 per cent implementation."
In a statement Progressive Conservative health critic Barry Petten said it was "unacceptable" that the governing Liberals didn't act on solving the issues over the last 10 years and didn't collect the $2.2 million it was owed.
"We need an updated MCP system, with the proper controls and audits, so that health-care providers can truly focus on providing better health care for all of us," said Petten.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Scant progress' offloading federal office space for affordable housing: AG
‘Scant progress' offloading federal office space for affordable housing: AG

Global News

timean hour ago

  • Global News

‘Scant progress' offloading federal office space for affordable housing: AG

The federal government has made little headway on its pledge to get rid of unused office space and transform some of it into affordable housing. A report released Tuesday by Auditor General Karen Hogan found that Public Services and Procurement Canada has made 'scant progress' on that commitment, reducing its office footprint by only two per cent between 2019 and 2024. The department planned to cut office space by 50 per cent by 2034, estimating it could save nearly $4 billion over the next decade. But Hogan says there has been little movement on the initiative, which could also alleviate the housing crisis. The auditor general blamed the inaction 'mainly on a lack of funding.' 1:36 Report gives Alberta lowest rating in the country for housing policies 'The federal government has been slow to reduce office space and cut costs to support hybrid work, and to convert surplus properties into affordable housing,' Hogan said. Story continues below advertisement 'Public Services and Procurement Canada and federal tenants need to accelerate their efforts to reduce the office space they occupy and contribute to increasing stock for housing that is sustainable, accessible, and affordable.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Last year, former prime minister Justin Trudeau promised to free up public land and vacant government offices to build more homes for Canadians, as part of his commitment in the Liberals' 2024 budget to restore fairness 'for every generation.' 'Governments across Canada are sitting on surplus, underused public land, like empty office towers, low rise buildings, there is great potential.' To unlock some of that potential, Trudeau announced a $500-million public lands acquisition fund. 1:43 Should home prices go down? 'No,' says Canada's new housing minister In 2017, Ottawa estimated that half of its office space was either vacant or underused. Three years later, even more buildings sat empty, as COVID-19 ushered in a new era of remote work. Story continues below advertisement Today, with public servants mandated to work a minimum of three days a week in office, most federal offices are still not at 100 per cent capacity. With bureaucrats back in the office, federal tenants are reluctant to leave. 'More public servants needing to spend more time in the building and hence are hesitant … to clear out of the building,' Hogan said. 'I know from our office I can tell you that we put up our hand and said with hybrid work, we don't need the space that we have, and we have offered to reduce our workspace,' she added. 'I would hope that other deputy heads would do the same in order to support the goal.'

Unresolved questions require independent commission
Unresolved questions require independent commission

Winnipeg Free Press

time11 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Unresolved questions require independent commission

Opinion Manitoba's ethics commissioner, Jeffrey Schnoor, recently released a report in which he concluded that former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson and two of her former cabinet ministers violated the province's conflict-of-interest laws after losing the 2023 election. They were accused of breaching the rules in an effort to approve the controversial Sio Silica sand mine during the short 'caretaker period' before the new NDP government was sworn in. Schnoor found that their actions 'lacked ethical and constitutional legitimacy,' but failed to identify what motivated them to act so recklessly. He says he found no evidence that any of the them acted for personal benefit but, if that wasn't the reason, why did they do it? MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Then-premier Heather Stefanson and finance minister Cliff Cullen announce the 2023 budget to media. Columnist Deveryn Ross says it's time to have an independent commission examine PC spending decisions. That's just one of many serious questions still swirling around the former government. Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala asked auditor general Tyson Shtykalo to investigate what went wrong with Manitoba Public Insurance's Project Nova technology project. MPI abandoned the program two months ago after a review estimated that total project costs had soared from $107 million to $435 million. The project was initially justified as an upgrade of MPI's digital capabilities, which would enable Manitobans to renew or amend their auto insurance and driver's licences online. It would also provide 'seamless connectivity' between MPI and repair shops. That was the hope back in 2020. Five years later, however, MPI Minister Matt Wiebe describes the program as a 'waste of taxpayers' money.' Where did all that money go, and why did MPI keep spending it? In April, the Kinew government asked Shtykalo to investigate an (almost) $100-million taxpayer-funded contract to build daycare facilities throughout the province. It alleges that the project, in which the province partnered with a company named JohnQ Public Inc., 'may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.' Specifically, the government claims the contract enabled the previous government to funnel $2.8 million to Boom Done Next, a company owned by Marni Larkin. Larkin was the campaign manager for the Tories' 2023 doomed re-election campaign. How does a company earn almost $3 million on such a project? Two weeks ago, a CBC report revealed that the previous government gave an $18 million grant to JohnQ Public days before the 2023 provincial election was called. There was no public announcement of the funding, which was reportedly for a large land purchase in the RM of Ritchot to develop a proposed 'Winnipeg regional rail port.' Why the secrecy and rushed timing of the grant? In February, at a debate between PC Party leadership candidates Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich, Kahn alleged that Daudrich was the party's top donor for 12 years and accused him of receiving 'licensing permits up north under the table' from the previous government. Daudrich's company, Lazy Bear Lodge and Expeditions, first received approvals to operate off-road vehicle tours near Churchill in 2004. The total number of permits for all tour operators in the coastal plain of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area was limited to 18 between 1984 and 2020. Five years ago, however, the former Tory government reportedly approved two additional permits, both of which were awarded to Lazy Bear. Did Khan have inside knowledge that permits were improperly issued to Daudrich's company, or was his accusation simply bluster in the heat of the moment? There is no evidence that anybody acted improperly in these instances, let alone illegally, but there are many questions and few answers. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. The Kinew government and many Manitobans are counting on the auditor general to expose and explain the questionable conduct of the previous government, but their hopes may be overly optimistic. That's because Shtykalo has significant discretion as to which matters he chooses to investigate, and his office has limited resources. Even if he decides to review the issues referred to him, more than a year could pass before any reports are issued. That's neither good enough nor fast enough. The better, more efficient course of action is for the government to appoint an independent commissioner to investigate the many unresolved issues, and to give that commissioner the power to compel testimony and gather evidence if necessary. Manitobans deserve to know the truth. An independent commission is the best path to those answers. Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@ X: @deverynross

Premier blasted for changing stance on pipelines
Premier blasted for changing stance on pipelines

Winnipeg Free Press

time12 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Premier blasted for changing stance on pipelines

PREMIER Wab Kinew is defending his government's support of a proposed pipeline to Hudson Bay amid a wildfires crisis, arguing a trade war with the U.S. has changed the province's economic course. Chris Wiebe, former vice-president of the Manitoba NDP who ran unsuccessfully in the 2023 provincial election, said Kinew's message during the run-up to the campaign was clear — pipelines were not an option for the government. 'There was no discussion of pipelines other than Wab Kinew stating at an all-candidates' meeting in 2022 that that's where his line in the sand was: no new pipelines,' Wiebe said in an interview Monday. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew is defending the NDP's decision to support a proposed pipeline to Hudson Bay, arguing a trade war with the U.S. has changed the province's economic course. 'Other than that, then there was no discussion.' Wiebe lost to Progressive Conservative incumbent Bob Lagasse in Dawson Trail by about 500 votes, but the NDP went on to form a majority government. 'The province is burning and we're talking about building pipelines up north, and I just don't see how a New Democratic Party can be discussing that,' said Wiebe, who resigned from the executive and the party earlier this year. 'All Manitoba NDP candidates in the 2023 provincial campaign were told that we cannot be pro-pipelines and run for the party … But with the province burning, here we are,' Wiebe wrote on social media Saturday. The post came after the premier told reporters a day earlier that his government would consider a pipeline to carry oil or gas to Hudson Bay. The province has been battling a wildfires crisis for weeks, with more than 20 communities evacuated amid a provincial state of emergency. Kinew didn't deny changing course on pipelines and paraphrased an English economist whose ideas influenced governments during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 'I'm a big fan of John Maynard Keynes and his famous quote, 'When the facts change, you know, you change your opinion on something.' Right now we're in an economic war that's been provoked by the Trump administration and it demands that we work together to build Canada,' he said after an unrelated news conference Monday. Last week, Kinew met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow premiers and territorial leaders in Saskatoon to discuss nation-building projects, including how to get natural resources to tidewater to ship overseas, rather than relying on the U.S. as a trading partner. 'In our goal to create a 'have Manitoba' instead of our traditional 'have-not' status, I think it's time that we entertain serious investments in northern infrastructure investments in the port. I think there's a way that we can do that while maintaining our leading status as being a climate-friendly jurisdiction,' Kinew said Monday. Wiebe, a University of Winnipeg chemistry professor, said he's remained a 'social democrat' but said his principles no longer align with the Manitoba NDP. The Canadian Press Files Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, left, talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney during the First Minister's Meeting in Saskatoon last Monday. 'They run a very progressive platform with few details, but they govern more as conservatives — where we're seeing that is they kept the Tory tax cuts, health care is in a shambles, our education system isn't doing great and we're talking about building pipelines. So I have issues with that,' said Wiebe. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Wiebe said the party doesn't have much input in policy change. 'It's all coming from the premier's office and we're informed which policies are being accepted. I think that most Manitoba NDP members would not be for pipelines, for example.' Kinew and the NDP continue to be popular with Manitobans. The most recent Free Press-Probe Research poll in March found the NDP has the support of 64 per cent of voters. The non-profit Angus Reid Institute's quarterly approval ratings released March 25 had Kinew in second place among Canada's premiers, next to Newfoundland's Andrew Furey. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store