Blame The Auditor General

Details surrounding the federal government’s wage support program are finally released and now in the hands of business owners who are trying to sort out whether they qualify or not. The delays in getting this information into the hands of the business community were at the very least frustrating.

Ever since the Prime Minister announced the program last week employers and employees alike were anxiously awaiting the details and thankful that the health system did not take as long to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as the policymakers did on the business side of the equation.

Just why it took so long is an interesting question, one that may have been most effectively answered by a former senior bureaucrat who said the Auditor General may have been the problem.

As bureaucrats and politicians worked behind closed doors to create some structure around the wage support program, no doubt the bureaucrats who were trained in a CYA world were more worried about any potential backlash for failing to provide proper oversight in an auditor’s report month from now when the heat of the battle has subsided, leaving the rest of us waiting while they looked for cover.