Alberta Auditor General Calls for Improved Reporting on Public Spending and Program Results

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada—July 17, 2025—Auditor General Doug Wylie released four reports to the Members of the Legislative Assembly today, reporting on how well government programs are achieving their intended outcomes.

“Albertans deserve to know whether the programs and services funded by their tax dollars are delivering results and at what cost,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie. “Our work highlights the need for stronger accountability and clearer performance reporting. Without it, Albertans won’t know how or if results are being achieved.”

The reports include:

• Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program—Education and Childcare (new performance audit)
• Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program—Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration (assessment of implementation)
• Systems to Deliver Child and Family Services to Indigenous Children in Alberta—Children and Family Services (assessment of implementation)
• Public Agency Board Member Recruitment and Selection—Public Service Commission (assessment of implementation)

Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program Performance Audit

Auditor General Doug Wylie has released a performance audit of Alberta’s Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, reporting on how over $1.1 billion in public funding was managed in 2023–2024 to support families and early childhood educators. The program is aimed at making child care more affordable for Alberta families while also supporting the recruitment, retention, and professional development of qualified early childhood educators.

When we started our audit, the program was managed by the Department of Child and Family Services; then it was moved to the Department of Jobs, Economy and Trade in 2024; and now it is managed by the Department of Education and Childcare.

We found that processes existed to verify operator claims, monitor the use of funds, and report on the performance of the child care program; however, not all processes were effective, and improvements are needed to ensure funding achieves intended outcomes.

The department:

• did not consistently ensure claims from operators were supported and only included eligible child care and educator hours
• did not consistently ensure operators passed on funding from the subsidies and grants to reduce parent 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,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie. “Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program’s purpose—to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.”

The Auditor General made two recommendations to the Department of Education and Childcare to improve processes to verify the accuracy of child care operator claims and verify child care operators use program funding as required.

Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program Assessment of Implementation

In June 2020, the Alberta government announced the Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant (SMERG) program. SMERG provided financial assistance to Alberta organizations (businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit entities) that faced restrictions or closures from public health orders and lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Auditor General examined the design, delivery, monitoring and reporting on the SMERG program in 2022 and recommended that the Department of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration verify the eligibility of approved recipients.

“The department has implemented our recommendation to verify the eligibility of approved recipients,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie. “Through this verification process, it was identified that ineligible payments were made and more were projected to have been made based on the department’s estimates.”

Based on its post-payment verification of selected recipients, the department determined that some organizations could not support their eligibility for the payments they received. It estimated that between $52.5 million and $105 million in ineligible program payments may have been made. The Auditor General estimated the total could be as high as $158 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,” said Wylie.

Systems to Deliver Child and Family Services to Indigenous Children in Alberta Assessment of Implementation

In 2016, the Auditor General examined whether the Department of Children and Family Services had adequate systems to deliver child and family services to Indigenous children in Alberta as they make up approximately 70 per cent of children receiving intervention services from the department. The findings resulted in three recommendations.

Two of these three recommendations have been implemented. Specifically, the department has implemented processes to ensure a child-centered approach and to strengthen intercultural understanding.

One recommendation has been repeated: Enhance early support services—Improve reporting on effectiveness of early support services.

While the department has made progress in designing culturally informed services and frameworks, it has not yet implemented consistent, outcome-based performance reporting to demonstrate whether these services are achieving intended results.

“Early support services and prevention programs are critical in reducing the need for child intervention services and for enhancing child, youth, and family resiliency,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie. “Without clear performance reporting, it is difficult to assess whether these services are making a measurable difference.”

Public Agency Board Member Recruitment and Selection Assessment of Implementation

In 2019, the Auditor General looked at whether the Government of Alberta’s recruitment, screening, selection, and appointment processes, as described in the Guidebook for Appointments to Alberta’s Public Agencies, have been implemented and are operating effectively. The findings resulted in four recommendations. In 2023, we reported on three recommendations. We found two recommendations had been implemented and a change in circumstance in another.

The Public Agency Secretariat completed a major system upgrade of its Public Agency Database that includes enhancements to data and reporting functionality.

“We now report that the remaining recommendation has been implemented on board member recruitment and selection. By improving information systems to monitor process outcomes, the secretariat can now more effectively identify current and upcoming vacancies and prioritize appointments based on risk,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie.

This improvement is important because public agencies play a vital role in delivering services and administering public funds across Alberta. Monitoring vacancies and timely recruitment ensures experienced and skilled individuals govern Alberta’s public agencies, boards, and commissions supporting the efficient and effective delivery of public programs and services.

All reports are available at oag.ab.ca.

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The Office of the Auditor General is independent of government and those it audits. Its work is mandated in legislation, and is not negotiated under contract, ensuring its independence of what it audits and how it reports the results of its work. This ensures its work is objective. The Office of the Auditor General is a credible and trusted source of information on government spending and activities.

For more information, please contact:

Cheryl Schneider, Executive Director, Engagement and Communications
Mobile: 780-399-0554 | Telephone: 780-422-8375
Email: cschneider@oag.ab.ca

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