Auditor General Investigating $208M in Payments Through Crown Bank for Pandemic Relief Program

The auditor general is investigating more than $208 million in payments made through a Crown bank to manage a pandemic relief program. Export Development Canada (EDC) was assigned back in 2020 to manage the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program which offered $60,000 in interest-free loans to small businesses. The work was given without open bidding to the contractor Accenture PLC, a move that cabinet and EDC did not disclose. “We have already begun looking into the program. We are intending to make this public by November,” Auditor General Karen Hogan told the Public Accounts Committee according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “There may be delays because we need the information and the financial data. It is already underway.”...