Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, April 09, 2019 -

Global Affairs Canada operates 175 diplomatic and consular missions in 110 countries. The Department did not fully meet its physical security needs to protect its staff and assets at these missions, according to a report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented today by the Honorable Kevin Sorenson, Chair of the Committee.

In the fall of 2018, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) released a performance audit whose purpose was to determine whether Global Affairs Canada met its physical security needs at missions abroad to protect its staff as well as assets. It found that although the Department had identified significant security deficiencies that needed immediate attention at many of its missions, not all of the recommended measures to address them had been implemented.

Additionally, the OAG found that most of the Department’s capital projects to upgrade security were at least three years behind schedule, due to weaknesses in project management and oversight.

Lastly, given that security assessments were missing or incomplete for many missions, the Department did not have the data it required to prioritize investments where they were most needed.

As part of its report on this audit, the Committee has made six recommendations to ensure that Global Affairs Canada addresses these matters, so that those working in Canada’s foreign missions are working in the safest environment possible.