A summary of the review of 459 grants at HRDC
By Mario deSantis, February 14, 2000
projects were affected by gross administrative problems	On November 17, 1999 Honourable Stewart received a full report of an internal audit of her
	department, Human Resources Department of Canada (HRDC). This internal audit included the
	review of 459 approved grant projects out of a total of about 30,000 projects for the period
	between April, 1997, and April, 1999. The reviewed 459 projects were worth about $200-million,
	while the total 30,000 projects were worth about $1-billion. The reviewed projects were affected
	by gross administrative problems and in particular revealed the following facts:
	Of 459 reviewed projects, two-thirds of them did not contain an analysis or a rationale for recommending or accepting the project
	Of 459 reviewed projects, eight out of every ten did not show evidence of financial monitoring
	Of 459 reviewed projects, three out of four had no indication of monitoring for achievement of specific results
	Of 459 reviewed projects, 15% did not contain an application from the sponsor.
37 cases	Though the administrative problems were widespread among the reviewed 459 projects, the internal
	audit identified only 37 cases worth $33-million for further analysis.
procedural problems and management problems	In regard to this internal audit of 459 projects, Denis Desautels, the Auditor General, has stated
	that the massive improprieties within the HRDC department are not strictly accounting problem
	but "...these are procedural problems and management problems... some of the spending was
	carried out without care and due diligence. So I feel that there were serious shortcomings that
	need to be fixed right away..."
--------------References:
	A simple question, no simple answer. Reform MP has Stewart squirming over the basics, Paul Wells, National Post, February 11, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com
	Rot may have spread to 3,000 grants, Luiza Chwialkowska, National Post, February 11, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com
	Desautels wants system overhaul, James Baxter, Southam News, February 11, 2000 http://www.nationalpost.com