Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, May 17, 2022 -

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada published an audit in 2021 to determine whether Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) had provided sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), nurses, and paramedics to Indigenous communities and organizations in a coordinated and timely manner to protect Indigenous peoples against COVID-19.

The audit found that ISC subsequently expanded access to its PPE stockpile to include more Indigenous communities and new categories of individuals. However, during the pandemic, the department did not have complete and accurate data on the stockpile’s contents.

The department claims it has also streamlined its processes for hiring nurses, expanded access to its contract nurses to all Indigenous communities, and created new contracts for nurses and paramedics. Yet, the department was unable to meet more than half of the requests for extra contract nurses and paramedics needed to respond to COVID-19.

A report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which was presented today by Committee Chair John Williamson, made three recommendations to ISC, requiring follow up reports to the Committee on their progress in addressing the shortages of nurses, paramedics and housing in Indigenous communities. These recommendations aim to ensure that ISC follows the Auditor General’s recommendations.