2002 December Report of the Auditor General of Canada

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Indian registration

• Departmental performance reports commonly provide information on the age profile of the Registered Indian population, the proportion of on-reserve vs. off-reserve Status Indians, and the growth rate of the on-reserve Status Indian population.

Education

• The most commonly reported information is the percentage of the relevant population participation, the breakdown of school attendance (on-reserve vs. off-reserve), and the number of education reform projects.
• In the 1999 Performance Report, information was presented on Indian language instruction, special education needs, and curriculum enhancement initiatives.
• There was no reporting on the certification of teachers, amounts spent on students attending off-reserve schools, detailed school evaluations, or numbers and reasons for students not returning to school.
• Information reported on post-secondary education is mainly enrolment numbers from year to year and comparisons to Canadian enrolment as a whole. There is no reporting on the type or amount of post-secondary education completed (that is, diplomas or degrees), numbers being funded, or graduation statistics.

Social development

• Data regarding the number of income security demonstration projects that were underlay during the relevant year is the only information collected from First Nations that is reported consistently.
• In the 1999 Performance Report, the social assistance dependency rate was reported; in the 2001 Performance Report, the number of beneficiaries assisted per month was reported.
• The 2001 Performance Report reported the National Child Benefit Program amount re-invested, the number of programs funded, and the number of families and children affected.
• None of the data collected on Indian Child and Family Services, Adult Care, or tribal council funding were reported.

Indian government support

• The only information reported on Band Support Funding is the dollar value of program expenditures.

Capital

• The most commonly reported information related to the expansion of on-reserve schools from year to year and planned vs. actual spending on capital projects.
• Information consistently reported on Housing and Infrastructure initiatives included data on housing adequacy, water delivery systems, and sewage disposal systems.
• The 1999 and 2000 departmental performance reports reported the number of houses completed and renovations made during the year.
• In the 2001 Performance Report, the actual number of housing units was reported.

Economic development

• Information generally reported included data on the number/dollar value of federal contracts awarded to Aboriginal businesses, Opportunity Fund projects funded and number of jobs resulting, the number of resource-based projects funded, and general information on partnership projects.
• Information reported less frequently included the number of projects from Resource Acquisition Funding, jobs created, and business expansion.

Health Canada

All Aboriginal programs

• In general, Health Canada lumps spending on all Aboriginal programs into one amount and does not report the breakdown of the individual spending per program with the exception of:
• 1999-2000 Report on Plans and Priorities—Budget for the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.
• 1999-2000 Report on Plans and Priorities—Budget for Home and Community Care.
• 1999 Performance Report—Budget for Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve over 4 years.
• 2001 Performance Report—Contribution towards the Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve.

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative

• Since the Initiative was announced in the 1999 budget, the only information reported consistently related to the gathered information is the basic status of the project. Also, the number of projects funded was reported in two of the years (departmental performance reports for 2000 and 2001).
• There was no reporting on detailed information such as the number of clients assisted, partnerships, linkages to other programs, and any detailed expenditures.

Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve

• The only information reported was the number of projects funded in the 1999 and 2000 departmental performance reports.
• As well, the 2000 Performance Report reported on the number of children the project served and an evaluation initiative taken.
• All other information gathered from First Nations was not used.

Home and Community Care (HCC)

• Information consistently reported included the status of the program in general.
• The 2001 Performance Report reported on data collected on the stages of the program such as the percentage of eligible communities that have completed the HCC program needs assessment, finalized service delivery plans, and that are actually providing services.

Tuberculosis Elimination Strategy

• No specific information was reported.

Human Resources Development Canada

Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreement (AHRDA) Program

• 1998-99 Report on Plans and Priorities and 1999 Performance Report reported a general goal to develop the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement Program in the following years.
• The 2000 Performance Report reported on the actual total spending on the program and a statement that the program was implemented after setting a specific goal of the amount of agreements to be signed (1999-2000 Report on Plans and Priorities).
• The 2000-2001 Report on Plans and Priorities and 2001 Performance Report reported on goals and results produced during the year which reflected information gathered from AHRDA-holders. Financially, the goal and the result of total spending was reported along with a breakdown of a goal reported for spending on childcare. Goals and results for the number of Aboriginals assisted during the year, numbers returning to school, numbers becoming employed, and savings to the EI account were reported related to data gathered throughout the year.
• Information that was gathered from First Nations but not reported in the Estimates documents, included data on the breakdown of planned or actual expenses related to costs of Employment-Insurance and non-Employment Insurance activities. The Estimates documents also did not include: information from audit reports; participant information; specifics on programs; information from the monthly/quarterly progress reports including targets vs. results on various data collected; and any information from the annual report.