Ontario’s Auditor General to Release Annual Report Today

Ontario’s Auditor General to Release Annual Report Today
Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk speaks during a press conference at Queens Park after the release of her 2019 annual report in Toronto on December 4, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Aaron Vincent Elkaim)
The Canadian Press
12/7/2020
Updated:
12/7/2020

TORONTO—Ontario’s auditor general is set to release her annual report this morning.

Bonnie Lysyk’s report will detail 13 value-for-money audits and one review.

Among them is an audit of virtual patient care in Ontario, which her office notes has ramped up in recent years—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lysyk assessed the accessibility, equitability, and cost-effectiveness of Ontario’s virtual care options.

She’s also set to weigh in on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, assessing whether it regulates sectors such as the province’s horse-racing industry and cannabis retail stores in line with legislative rules.

The annual update comes less than two weeks after Lysyk released a special report into the province’s pandemic response, which found that it was slower and more reactive than that of other provinces.

The governing Tories took issue with many parts of the report, with Premier Doug Ford dismissing it as “21 pages of inaccuracies” while accusing Lysyk of overstepping her authority.

“Stick with looking for value for money, stick with the job that we hired you for,” he said.