Latest news with #DougWylie
Global News
18-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
Alberta failing to ensure daycares use funds to cut fees for parents: auditor general
Alberta's auditor general says the provincial government has not done the work to ensure daycares getting public funds use them to lower fees for parents or top up staff wages. Doug Wylie, in a report released Thursday, says without proper verification, Alberta could be overcompensating operators with federal and provincial funds meant to lower the average cost of daycare to $10 per day. 'There is a risk that public funds may not be used as intended — leading to parents overpaying for child-care and educators being under-compensated,' the report says. Under the program, daycare operators sign funding agreements with the province based on the number of children attending the daycare and their ages. Daycares must then submit reports to the province to back up their claims. In reviewing documents submitted by 25 daycares, Wylie's office found more than half delivered misleading numbers regarding things like attendance records. Some exaggerated the amount of time a child spent in care, and others filed duplicate records for each child. Story continues below advertisement There also were 'significant issues' found in three cases. The report says in one case, inaccurate reporting led Alberta to overpay a daycare by roughly $26,000 in a month. The report doesn't include an overall estimate for how much funding may be misspent year-to-year, but notes that Alberta spent over $1 billion on child-care and daycare subsidies in 2023-24. 2:02 Calgary family questioning changes to provincial childcare funding model Wylie, in an interview, said it wasn't the goal of his office to find an overall dollar figure. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Rather, the audit was focused on the efficacy of the government's processes in monitoring the 2,600 facilities that receive funding, he said. 'In an ideal world, the way it should work is the department's process should be able to identify those answers for you,' Wylie said of a potential dollar figure. Story continues below advertisement Similar to potentially not lowering parent fees, the report says the government also doesn't have processes in place to ensure daycare operators use funding from a separate program to top up staff wages. Beyond financial risks to families, Wylie said not having proper verification in place could lead to a lack of public trust in the program and others offered by governments. 'There's a perception that those programs should be well run and the integrity should be top notch.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's a perception that those programs should be well run and the integrity should be top notch." Wylie's office is recommending the government create new processes to verify claims made by daycare operators, and make sure operators are using their funding appropriately. 1:49 Alberta introducing $15-a-day child care for every parent Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, in a statement, said his office will work to address the issues in the report. Story continues below advertisement 'I will be working with my department officials to implement a more streamlined and accountable claims system, among other tools to make sure our monitoring and performance measurement are based on accurate information,' Nicolaides said. 'We take the recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General seriously, and we thank them for their feedback on how we can strengthen accountability for public dollars to maximize its benefit to families and frontline educators.' Diana Batten, the Opposition NDP's children and family services critic, said the United Conservative Party government was failing parents. She noted the province recently ended a separate daycare subsidy program that she said led to significant cost increases for many. 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive,' Batten said in a statement. 'It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds and it's just cruel.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds and it's just cruel." The province replaced the subsidy program, which applied to more than 65,000 children, with an overall flat fee that applied to all children attending licensed daycares and family day homes. 2:00 Alberta parents criticize $15/day child care plan replacing low-income subsidy Wylie's office released a second report Thursday providing an update on a previous audit it undertook on a government support program for businesses affected by COVID-19 public health measures. Story continues below advertisement That report says an internal government audit found as much as $105 million could have been doled out to ineligible recipients, but Wylie's office believed that number could be as high as $158 million. Wylie's report says the government is in the process of recovering $7.6 million, but has no further plans to try and claw back more. Economy Minister Joseph Schow said in a statement that after reviewing nearly 2,000 cases, the government believes 'the vast majority of applicants met program qualifications.'
Calgary Herald
17-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, estimated millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Alberta auditor general Doug Wylie speaks at a 2019 news conference. Photo by Larry Wong / Postmedia, file Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of oversight of the province's subsidy program, and that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed as much as $158 million to ineligible applicants. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Auditor general Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce fees for parents and pay educators. 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being undercompensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues, including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. The office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides responded to the report in a statement accepting Wylie's recommendations and citing 'extensive changes' made since the audit review period. 'I will be working with my department officials to implement a more streamlined and accountable claims system, among other tools to make sure our monitoring and performance measurement are based on accurate information,' it states. In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing.
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta not verifying daycare funds used to lower costs for parents: auditor general
Alberta's auditor general says the province isn't verifying that daycares getting public funding are using the money to lower fees for parents or to top up staff wages as required. A report from Doug Wylie says without verifying claims submitted by daycares, Alberta could be overcompensating operators. The report says a review of documents submitted by daycares found inaccurate reporting more than half the time, including an instance that led Alberta to overpay one daycare $26,000 in a month. The funds come from Alberta's multi-year agreement with Ottawa to lower daycare fees to an average of $10 per day by subsidizing operating costs for eligible daycares. Diana Batten, the Opposition NDP's children and family services critic, says without having proper checks and balances the United Conservative Party government isn't meeting its commitment to lower fees for parents. The report says Alberta spent more than $1 billion on daycare subsidies in 2023-2024. The office for Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025. Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of provincial oversight of its subsidy program, and, that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed more than $155 million to ineligible applicants. Auditor General Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce parents fees and pay educators. 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being under compensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing. 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive. It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds, and it's just cruel.' Pandemic program overpaid $158M: Auditor general A second report from Wylie's office follows-up on a 2022 audit of the provincial program designed to help businesses affected by pandemic public health measures. The auditor general then recommended that the government take steps to verify the eligibility of those who received funding. Thursday's report estimates that following that verification process by the government an estimated $158 million in ineligible program payments had been made. The department projects the value of ineligible payments was significantly lower, at between $52.5 million and $105 million. 'Program effectiveness should not only be measured by getting money out the door quickly, but also by whether the program achieves its intended results,' Wylie stated in a news release. He noted the department had focused on high-risk eligibility verifications but believed further post-payment verifications of other applications would produce diminishing returns. 'Without completing that analysis, the department would not be able to conclude on the eligibility of the majority of program applications,' he wrote in recommending further processes to verify eligibility. The report states the ministry of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration is in the process of recovering $7.6 million of payments to identified ineligible, overpaid, and non-responder recipients, and that $1.4 million has been recovered so far. Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow. mblack@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
Calgary Herald
17-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Article content Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of provincial oversight of its subsidy program, and, that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed more than $155 million to ineligible applicants. Article content Auditor General Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. Article content Article content Article content The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. Article content Article content The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce parents fees and pay educators. Article content 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being under compensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. Article content 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Article content Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Article content Article content Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. Article content Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. Article content In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing. Article content 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive. It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds, and it's just cruel.'
