Canada government accepts Auditor General recommendations across health, defence and border systems

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Canada accepts audit recommendations

Highlights

Canada's government accepted all Auditor General recommendations spanning health, defence, the financial system, procurement, and border tax and duty collection.
FINTRAC contributed financial intelligence for 348 major investigations in 2023, generating 7,214 disclosure packages covering 1,678,230 transactions and 10,650 subjects of interest.
The Canada Border Services Agency's new CARM system processed about $42 billion in duties and taxes for 2024-25, with 99.65% of imports now processed electronically.

Audit findings and government response

As reported by Government of Canada, ministers say the six Auditor General reports cover dental care, the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, call centres, ammunition, the financial system and border tax and duty collection, and that all recommendations are being accepted.

The statement says the Canadian Dental Care Plan has made care more affordable for members since its launch in December 2023. More than 7.6 million Canadian residents have enrolled and more than 4.9 million have received care.

During the audit period for the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile, the Public Health Agency of Canada says it responded to all 81 requests for assistance from provinces and territories, including support for emergencies such as wildfires through supplies including medical equipment, vaccines and beds. The agency says it will act on recommendations tied to documentation consistency, timeliness of corrective actions and performance measurement.

On national security and financial oversight, the statement says FINTRAC's intelligence contributed to 348 major resource-intensive investigations, along with hundreds of other investigations across municipal, provincial, federal and international levels. Last year, FINTRAC produced 7,214 financial intelligence disclosure packages based on 3,007 unique disclosures, including 1,678,230 financial transactions and 10,650 subjects of interest for law enforcement.

In defence, the government says work is already underway to improve ammunition data quality, governance, accountability, requirements planning, stockpile management and oversight of supplier performance and delivery delays. It says ammunition remains essential to the Canadian Armed Forces' readiness to train, operate and sustain military operations.

Operational changes across procurement and border systems

The government says Shared Services Canada will adjust procurement processes to complete replacement of contact centre technologies before existing contracts expire. It also plans a government-wide consolidation strategy for contact centre technology to cut the number of contracts, adapt to changing technology and scale services to demand.

The statement links that modernization effort to the planned creation of Digital Transformation Canada, announced in September, which is intended to support better taxpayer value and improved services. Ottawa says the new body can help test and scale workable solutions, reduce duplication and support Canadian innovation.

At the border, the Canada Border Services Agency says its CARM system effectively calculates duties and taxes using importer-submitted information, and processed about $42 billion in duties and taxes in 2024-25. Launched in October 2024, the system has replaced paper-based workflows and aging IT infrastructure, with 99.65% of imports now processed electronically.

The agency says it will phase out temporary workarounds, improve user guidance tools, publish inquiry response times and refine support processes, after already significantly reducing its June 2026 assistance backlog. Ministers say these steps are part of a broader effort to improve efficiency, cost control and value for money across federal programs and services.

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