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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The territorial government has made "unsatisfactory" progress in its inspection of daycares since 2010, putting children at risk, according to a status report by the auditor general of Canada.

The auditor general found 90 per cent of daycare facilities had been inspected in 2010 - an improvement, he noted - but the average time between inspections was 14 months. Sixty-six per cent of daycares went un-inspected for periods of longer than one year, according to the status report released Feb. 14.

Auditor general Michael Ferguson expressed particular concern over inspection reports that found "significant" examples of non-compliance in NWT daycares, notably, "blocked fire exits," "cleaning products/chemicals within reach of children" and "electrical outlets not covered." The report did not detail which daycares had breached safety standards.

Ferguson noted that despite the serious nature of these lapses, the overall assessment called only for "minor changes" and the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment provided no written guidance for further action.

"Without proper follow-up on instances of non-compliance, children are at risk," he wrote.

In response to a letter from the auditor general's office, the department said it would take "immediate action to address identified deficiencies and challenges."

The status report also reiterated its previous recommendation that the department ensure that daycare facilities are inspected annually.

The status report marks the first follow-up to performance audits of various departments conducted by the auditor general from 2006 onward and tabled in the legislative assembly. A 2010 report by the auditor general on education in the NWT found, among other things, that the department of education was not performing yearly inspections of all 121 daycares, as legally required under the Child Day Care Act and the Child Day Care Standards Regulations. The department responded with a commitment to inspect daycares annually.

Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said the findings are definitely a cause for concern and said he was grateful for the critical examination provided by the auditor general and said there is also a role for civil servants who may be privy to information earlier than MLAs.

"Unfortunately we don't have the whistle-blower legislation that would enable them to reveal these sorts of things and that's one thing I've pushed before and have pushed again internally here. So that's - I'd like to see that so these sorts of things get exposed early," he said.

Bromley said he hoped to see more focus on early childhood development in the future. The report also noted that the department had not collected sufficient data to revise its early childhood development programming, though a review is currently underway.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro said she feels the department of education has been subjected to too many cuts. In 2010, the department told the auditor general it did not have adequate staff to fulfill the requirement for annual daycare inspections.

But, said Bisaro, "it is concerning that an issue of safety is not higher on their priority list whether you have the staff or not ... Somewhere between the minister and the lowest guy on the totem pole the priority is not being emphasized enough."

Gloria Iatridis, assistant deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment, said the department has developed an action plan to improve the monitoring and reporting of daycare inspections.

As far as the immediate safety concerns at daycares, Iatridis said the department is working closely with regional office superintendents, who oversee the early childhood consultants who conduct the inspections.

"We've directed our regional superintendents to address all the immediate concerns in follow-up to the existing inspection reports," said Iatridis.

The assistant deputy minister acknowledged that the department was experiencing a staffing shortage during its last audit, but said additional early childhood consultants had been hired at regional offices.

"Now that we have more resources we can put more attention to ensuring we're meeting the legislative requirements," she said.

The purpose of the auditor general's status report is to examine the GNWT's progress in addressing recommendations made in previous audits, from 2006 to 2010. The auditor general will be in Yellowknife at the end of March to meet with government officials and discuss the report.

The report found three major barriers toward implementing recommendations: inadequate information to manage programs and make decisions; insufficient monitoring of third-party program delivery; and an absence of detailed action plans for implementation of recommendations.

The report covered four main subjects: education and training programs; public housing and homeownership programs; contracting for goods and services by the departments of Finance, Public Works and Services and Transportation; and the processing of Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission claims.

The report found satisfactory progress had been made toward implementing eight of 14 recommendations. Audit work for the status report was completed Aug. 31.

Satisfactory progress

Workers Safety and Compensation Commission

• administration of workers' compensation claims

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation

• regular evaluation of homeownership programs;
• timely collection of mortgages;
• monitoring district offices for compliance with Corporation's policies and procedures

Finance

• increasing awareness of the requirements for delegation of contract authorities;
• enhancing monitoring to ensure delegations are made in accordance with laws/regulations/policies;
• implementation of an independent contract dispute resolution mechanism

Education, Culture and Employment

• monitoring of education councils;
• monitoring adult literacy and basic education programming;

GNWT

• update/improve availability of policy and guidance on contracting to make it easier for staff to use

Unsatisfactory progress

Northwest Territories Housing Corporation

• regular monitoring of local housing organizations (LHO) to ensure all applicants are point-rated for housing-assistance eligibility and to ensure adequate documentation in support of LHO allocation decisions;
• monitoring of LHOs to ensure they perform annual and random property inspections and report condition ratings of housing units; ensuring all LHOs have access to the Housing Corporation's maintenance management operations system and regularly report maintenance activities;
• establishment/implementation of a strategy for monitoring and assessing LHOs' operations;
• establishment of a formal process to address issues identified by assessments and internal audit reports on a timely basis;
• finalization of a strategic plan to meet housing needs of NWT residents and incorporate elements of housing into a comprehensive northern housing strategy

Education, Culture and Employment

• annual inspections of all daycare facilities; collection of data to help assess the program's success; formal evaluation of the success of early childhood development programming

GNWT

• improving practices to ensure all contracts for goods and services are administered in accordance with laws/regulations/policies

Source: Auditor General of Canada

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