Auditor general blasts Indigenous Services Canada for failing to improve essential programs

Indigenous Services Canada is getting a failing grade on several fronts from the federal auditor general.

In a scathing report released Tuesday, Karen Hogan found the department made unsatisfactory progress implementing six past audits completed between 2015 and 2022, leaving First Nations facing persistent barriers when accessing health and dental care, safe drinking water and emergency services.

“Unless significant progress is made in addressing these barriers, the federal government may struggle to improve services and program outcomes and to advance reconciliation,” the report says.

This lack of progress came despite the almost doubling of spending on Indigenous services over the last five years, Hogan said in morning testimony at the House of Commons standing committee on public