Ongoing Work
Emergency Management and Business Continuity Plans
We are conducting a performance audit of the Department of Justice and Public Safety’s management of emergency management and business continuity plans. Under the Emergency Services Act, the Minister of Justice and Public Safety is responsible for developing and maintaining a provincial emergency management plan as well as a government business continuity plan. The Act also requires all municipalities to have emergency management plans approved by the department’s Director of Emergency Services.
Our audit will assess whether the Department of Justice and Public Safety effectively manages municipal emergency management plans and the provincial emergency management plan, and whether it effectively manages a comprehensive government business continuity plan.
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Fraud Risk Management
We are undertaking a performance audit of Fraud Risk Management in government. Government’s 2017 Fraud Risk Management Policy; aims to increase awareness of fraud; prevent its occurrence; and ensure the detection, reporting, and investigation of fraud, thereby helping the provincial government maintain its zero-tolerance stance toward fraud. The Treasury Board Secretariat oversees this policy’s implementation across all departments and government reporting entities.
Our audit will seek to determine whether the Treasury Board Secretariat effectively oversees the implementation of the fraud management policy throughout the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Transitional Supportive Living Initiative at 106 Airport Road
We are conducting a performance audit of the transitional supportive living initiative at 106 Airport Road in St. John’s. Transitional supportive living provides temporary accommodations that include accessible and essential supports for individuals experiencing homelessness, with the goal of fostering transition to independent permanent housing. In February 2024, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation signed a lease with a hotel operator for a term of February 15, 2024, to December 31, 2026, worth $6.9 million annually, to use 106 Airport Road as a transitional supportive living initiative. The facility began accepting tenants in March 2024.
In April 2024, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation partnered with a non-profit organization to oversee the operations of the transitional supportive living initiative at 106 Airport Road. A contract was signed with the non-profit organization in April 2024 for a maximum amount of $3.7 million for the 2025 fiscal year. Another contract was signed with the same organization in July 2025, for a maximum amount of $4.6 million for the 2026 fiscal year. In April 2024, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation also signed a contract with a security company to provide security services for the initiative, valued at a maximum of $1.2 million per fiscal year. In August 2025, a request for proposals was issued for the creation of a new transitional supportive living program, which will replace 106 Airport Road before the lease ends.
This audit will seek to determine whether contracts were procured according to policy and legislation, whether they were managed appropriately according to the terms of the contracts, and whether the transitional supportive living initiative had appropriate oversight from Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation.
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College of the North Atlantic: Operating Expenses, Select HR Processes, and Oversight
We are conducting a performance audit on the College of the North Atlantic, focused on operating expenses, select human resource processes, and oversight.
The College of the North Atlantic (CNA) is Newfoundland and Labrador’s public college and is one of the largest postsecondary educational and skills training centers in Atlantic Canada. CNA offers over 100 programs to approximately 7,000 students each year and has 17 campuses across the province.
Our audit will seek to determine whether CNA manages its operating expenses in a manner that ensures the best use of public money; whether select human resource processes are consistent with applicable College and provincial government policies and procedures; and whether there are effective oversight processes to manage operations.
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Health Sector Contracts: Phase 2 – Virtual Care
In March 2024, our Office announced that we would undertake performance audits of various health sector contracts. We intended to complete this audit in phases to cover the breadth and depth of the topic. Our phase 1 audit was focused on agency nurses, and we delivered our report in June 2025. Our phase 2 audit is focused on virtual care.
Virtual Care, also known as telemedicine, is a non-traditional care approach where health-care services are not delivered in person but remotely using different forms of communication or information technologies to provide supplemental care to the people of our province. Within Newfoundland and Labrador, virtual care services are offered via telephone and video conference technology to patients without (i.e. unattached to) a primary care provider. This audit will seek to determine whether virtual care service contracts are procured and managed in accordance with legislation and policy. It will also examine whether the provision of virtual care services is monitored and delivered effectively.
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Housing Corporation: Supply Management
We are conducting a performance audit on the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (the Corporation), specifically, on elements of the Corporation’s supply management of social rental housing inventory.
The Corporation is a Crown corporation that operates under the authority of the Housing Corporation Act. The Corporation’s mandate is to develop and administer housing assistance policies and programs for the benefit of low-to-moderate-income households who require assistance in accessing or maintaining safe, adequate and affordable housing. Programs delivered serve both renters and homeowners and support vulnerable populations including those experiencing homelessness or fleeing gender-based violence, seniors, youth, Indigenous persons and persons with disabilities. The Corporation’s programs include social rental housing and other programs such as private market rental assistance, supportive living grants, emergency shelter placements, and home repair financial assistance.
The audit will seek to determine whether the Corporation effectively manages the supply of social rental housing inventory to meet the needs of Newfoundland and Labrador. The audit will specifically examine whether the Corporation effectively evaluates and monitors current and forecasted social rental housing demand; whether the Corporation effectively evaluates and monitors the current social rental housing supply; whether the Corporation effectively implements plans to manage its social rental housing inventory, including deficiencies between demand and supply; and whether the Corporation effectively reports to the Board of Directors and its Minister on its management of social rental housing inventory.
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Long Term Care Facilities
On December 14, 2023, the Public Accounts Committee requested a special assignment audit of personal care homes and long-term care. The Office of the Auditor General completed the requested audit of personal care homes on March 26, 2025.
The ‘Long Term Care Facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador Operational Standards’ represent the Department of Health and Community Services’ expectations for long term care facilities and are subject to departmental review. NL Health Services is responsible for delivering and administering the province’s health and community services, which includes long term care. NL Health Services provides residential care and accommodations to long term care residents who have high care needs and require on-site professional nursing services. Long term care facilities provide 24-hour nursing care plus varying degrees of medical, rehabilitative, social work, pastoral care, dietetic, pharmaceutical, palliative care, respite, and recreation programs. Some facilities have specialized programs and units for groups with special needs, such as residents with Alzheimer’s disease.
The audit will seek to determine whether NL Health Services and the Department of Health and Community Services provide appropriate program delivery and oversight of long-term care facilities. All five zones of NL Health Services will be included in the audit.