Ongoing Work
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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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.