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CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Complaint by former Liberal Party president against N.S. auditor general dismissed
A regulatory body has dismissed a complaint by the former president of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party against the province's auditor general regarding a report she completed last year on the misuse of public funds. Joseph Khoury complained to Chartered Professional Accountants Nova Scotia last year after Kim Adair asked the RCMP to investigate a potential "concealment" of the theft of public money by a party employee. A spokeswoman for the accountants' oversight body said it decided on June 10 "to dismiss the complaint in whole" against Adair, though the reasoning wasn't made public. Khoury was the party's president when the theft was discovered in December 2020. He has said the party investigated the theft and recovered the stolen money. He also alleged Adair's report issued in February 2024 was incomplete and that it is defamatory toward him and the Liberals. AG office stands by report However, Adair's office sent an email Monday stating "she stands fully behind the report and the process followed to prepare it." "The report recommendations from February 2024 were accepted and endorsed formally by the legislature's public accounts committee. Also, then Liberal Leader Zach Churchill indicated he immediately acted on the recommendations [to contact the RCMP]." Cindy Bayers, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, said in an email that "the matter remains under investigation." In her report, Adair said her office was aware of "concerning information" that revealed the party tried to hide and delay the matter "until after the 2021 election," which the incumbent Liberals lost to the Progressive Conservatives. It also said the former employee's misuse of travel claims and a party credit card led to the employee's resignation and the reimbursement of more than $194,000 by the employee. The reimbursements were to cover the cost of the missing funds and of the forensic audit that followed. The auditor's report says, "The [Liberal] association's delay in providing information to our office was not in compliance with the Auditor General Act," which gives her office unrestricted access to records of any organization that receives public funding. Then Liberal leader asked police to investigate Churchill, who was elected party leader in July 2022 and resigned after last fall's election loss, supported the auditor general's finding and has said he went to police "and urged them to look into this matter further." Khoury wasn't immediately available for comment. However, last year he sent an email to The Canadian Press saying he believed the auditor general's report was "inaccurate." He wrote that the party immediately took steps to recover the money and ensure it would be "repaid in full" as soon as it discovered funds were missing in December 2020. The steps they took included hiring a law firm and following its advice, he added. The Liberals also hired Deloitte to conduct a forensic examination of the party's computer networks, financial records and other files from previous years, Khoury said. "Contrary to what the auditor general asserts in her report, the independent auditor for the [Liberal] association was completely aware that there were very likely previous years impacted by this loss and that the investigation was being conducted by Deloitte," wrote Khoury. "To do this work properly took time. Simply put, we did not know what the previous years' investigation would unearth. In this area of her report, the auditor general is wholly and unequivocally mistaken or has been misinformed."
CBC
24-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Unclear how N.S. is prioritizing where new schools are built, auditor general says
Nova Scotia's auditor general says the province needs to be more transparent about how it's spending money on school infrastructure. Auditor General Kim Adair looked at the decision-making process behind all major school projects that were in the works as of September 2024, with a total value of $2 billion. She concluded that the process wasn't grounded in evidence and needs improvement. She said the province should be considering enrolment projections, modular and portable use, and upcoming housing developments, among other factors, but it does not seem to always be doing so. "A new school can be upwards of $100 million. You're going to impact our students for decades ahead. It should not be a subjective process," she said at a news conference Tuesday. One example in Adair's report is that of four new schools for the Halifax area announced in 2023. She said the Education Department justified them based on their proximity to new housing developments. However, there were seven areas in Halifax with new housing developments, and Adair said the province couldn't clarify how it picked the four. Lack of answers "The concerning thing, if you read through this report, is the number of sentences where we state we could not get answers, they could not support the decisions, there was no evidence," Adair said. She also noted that the Halifax Regional Centre for Education requested six new schools in 2023, ranked in order of preference, and the province approved them in a seemingly random way, not following the order HRCE put forward. Critical condition, delays Adair reported that 30 per cent of Nova Scotia's 372 schools are in poor condition and three per cent are in critical condition. Another 21 per cent of schools haven't had an assessment of their condition in over five years. She said the schools in poor and critical condition don't represent a safety issue, but the information is an important tool that should be used for planning purposes. A spokesperson for the Education Department said some of the schools the auditor general found to be critical are no longer in that condition following recent maintenance. In other cases, they said the department and regional centres for education are working on or scheduling upgrades. Many of the schools on the critical list need new roofs, windows and siding. Adair called out delays to four school replacement projects, including St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay school in Halifax, whose reopening has been repeatedly pushed back. Adair said another three cases — two in Cape Breton and one in Fairview-Clayton Park — have had no progress in seven years. Meanwhile, Adair said, costs have doubled and the time lapse may result in schools that are no longer big enough for their communities. Room for political influence A similar review of school capital planning was completed in 2016 by Adair's predecessor, Michael Pickup. He found problems with government decision-making surrounding three new schools that were put in three Liberal-held ridings by a Liberal government, leading to accusations of political influence. Adair said there have been improvements to the decision-making process since then, but not enough. She said there is still room for subjectivity and political influence, although she stopped short of suggesting there has, in fact, been political influence in any recent projects. The 2016 report led to the launch of the current capital planning process in 2019. NDP education critic Paul Wozney said there hasn't been enough progress since then. "What we need is a long-term planning process that makes sense, to get schools built so we don't have to house our kids in stopgap buildings like modulars and portables," he told reporters. Adair made six recommendations, all of which the province has accepted. Education Minister Brendan Maguire would not do an interview but said in an emailed statement that updates to the capital planning process are underway. He said his department is working with the Finance and Public Works departments, as well as the regional centres for education and the French school board.
CBC
24-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Decisions on N.S. school construction not supported by evidence: AG report
Social Sharing Nova Scotia's auditor general says the province needs to be more transparent about how it's spending money on school infrastructure. Auditor General Kim Adair looked at the decision-making process behind all major school projects that were in the works as of September 2024, with a total value of $2 billion. She concluded that the process wasn't grounded in evidence and needs improvement. She said the province should be considering enrolment projections, modular and portable use, and upcoming housing developments, among other factors, but it does not seem to always be doing so. "A new school can be upwards of $100 million. You're going to impact our students for decades ahead. It should not be a subjective process," she said at a news conference Tuesday. One example in Adair's report is that of four new schools for the Halifax area announced in 2023. She said the Education Department justified them based on their proximity to new housing developments. However, there were seven areas in Halifax with new housing developments, and Adair said the province couldn't clarify how it picked the four. Lack of answers "The concerning thing, if you read through this report, is the number of sentences where we state we could not get answers, they could not support the decisions, there was no evidence," Adair said. She also noted that the Halifax Regional Centre for Education requested six new schools in 2023, ranked in order of preference, and the province approved them in a seemingly random way, not following the order HRCE put forward. Critical condition, delays Adair reported that 30 per cent of Nova Scotia's 372 schools are in poor condition and three per cent are in critical condition. Another 21 per cent of schools haven't had an assessment of their condition in over five years. She said the schools in poor and critical condition don't represent a safety issue, but the information is an important tool that should be used for planning purposes. Adair called out delays to four school replacement projects, including St. Joseph's-Alexander McKay school in Halifax, whose reopening has been repeatedly pushed back. Adair said another three cases — two in Cape Breton and one in Fairview-Clayton Park — have had no progress in seven years. Meanwhile, Adair said, costs have doubled and the time lapse may result in schools that are no longer big enough for their communities. Room for political influence A similar review of school capital planning was completed in 2016 by Adair's predecessor, Michael Pickup. He found problems with government decision-making surrounding three new schools that were put in three Liberal-held ridings by a Liberal government, leading to accusations of political influence. Adair said there have been improvements to the decision-making process since then, but not enough. She said there is still room for subjectivity and political influence, although she stopped short of suggesting there has, in fact, been political influence in any recent projects. The 2016 report led to the launch of the current capital planning process in 2019. NDP education critic Paul Wozney said there hasn't been enough progress since then. "What we need is a long-term planning process that makes sense, to get schools built so we don't have to house our kids in stopgap buildings like modulars and portables," he told reporters. Adair made six recommendations, all of which the province has accepted. Education Minister Brendan Maguire would not do an interview but said in an emailed statement that updates to the capital planning process are underway. He said his department is working with the Finance and Public Works departments, as well as the regional centres for education and the French school board.
CTV News
24-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Nova Scotia's school capital plan lacks transparency and growth targets: Auditor General
Nova Scotia's school capital plan hasn't kept pace with population growth and the province hasn't provided strong evidence and rationale for where new and replacement schools and construction is happening said Auditor General Kim Adair Tuesday. 'With more than $1 billion in new growth and replacement schools announced in the past year, it's important the Department (of Education) support its recommendations for new growth school requests with a clear evidenced-based process,' said Adair. Enrollment has surged over the past decade, including a 13 per cent increase in province-wide enrolment and a 24 per cent jump within Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) alone. According to the AG's report, Halifax-area schools have grown from 48,000 students in 2015-16 to nearly 60,000 this year. To meet the population growth the AG report indicated the province has spent $162 million on modular and portable classrooms across the HRCE to welcome the influx of students. Adair says the province needs to adopt a new growth strategy to ensure new schools are going where they are needed most. In 2023 the province announced four new schools, but Adair said she didn't get a clear explanation as to why those school communities were selected over other communities. 'Decisions of this magnitude should be supported by evidence that very clearly demonstrates which school capital projects are the highest priority and those should be approved first,' said Adair. The audit includes six recommendations, including the call to update and develop a new school capital plan with a strong business case, that provides clear evidence for new schools and rational for advancing certain projects over others. Adair said the province has agreed to start implementing the recommendations. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Global News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Rise in school violence across Nova Scotia leads province to update code of conduct
The Nova Scotia government has released an updated code of conduct for students in response to a spike in school violence. Education Minister Brendan Maguire says the code sets clear and consistent direction in the education system and also details consequences for those who violate the rules. For years teachers unions have called on the province to update its code of conduct, and last year the auditor general reported that training and prevention measures have failed to keep pace with the jump in violent behaviour in schools. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Auditor general Kim Adair said there had been a 60 per cent increase in reported school violence since 2017 and that staff had said they felt unprepared to deal with the concerning trend. Included in the revised code of conduct, scheduled to go into effect in September, are stronger definitions of unacceptable behaviour, such as racism, bullying and cyberbullying, sexual assault and physical violence. Story continues below advertisement The province has also created guidelines for teachers and administrators that list disciplinary measures for a variety of offences. As well, all school network employees will have a duty to report incidents to the Education Department, which will track the data. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.
