Murray Wood: The poppy seems to be endangered in Canada these days
With Remembrance Day approaching, Murray Wood says he's not seeing as many poppies as he used to. Wood says he hopes the...
OTTAWA — The auditor general says the small business loan program the federal government rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t managed in a cost-effective way.
Auditor general Karen Hogan says the Canada Emergency Business Account program wasn’t managed with “due regard for value for money.”
Read More:
- Liberals launch pandemic preparedness agency, seeking faster vaccine development
- Population growth slows for first time since pandemic as feds clamp down: StatCan
- Auditor general will probe government contracts with ArriveCan app contractor
The program lent 898,000 small businesses $49.1 billion to help cover expenses such as rent and payroll during the pandemic.
The report estimates $3.5 billion of that went to recipients that were ineligible.
The auditor general says Export Development Canada, which was responsible for the program, acted quickly to get the loans out.
But the report says the Crown corporation relied on sole-source contracts and a single vendor without strong checks and balances.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
