Response to Parliamentary committees and external audits for 2018-19

Response to parliamentary committees

Standing Committee on Public Accounts: Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Report 2, Disposing of Government Surplus Goods and Equipment, of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

Summary

On November 5, 2018, Shared Services Canada (SSC) appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (The Committee) along with Public Services and Procurement Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to report on progress and answer questions with regards to Report 2, of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada. At this hearing, the Assistant Auditor General and the Principal auditor also appeared.

At the Standing Committee appearance, the SSC confirmed its agreement with the Auditor General's three recommendations out of four from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) that involved the Department to improve the management of the disposal of surplus goods and equipment.

On February 6, 2019, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts tabled its 58th Report entitled: Report 2, Disposing of Government Surplus Goods and Equipment of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada with the House of Commons. Based upon on the findings of the Auditor General, the Committee requested an update to the OAG’s four recommendations to the selected government organizations involved in the performance audit.

The Government tabled its response to the Committee's report on June 6, 2019 in the House of Commons. The Government Response outlines progress made in response to the Auditor General’s and the Committee’s recommendations, including ensuring that practices and procedures are in line with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat guidance on material management and the streamlining of the asset disposable process. The Government Response also describes the progress made to improve the way Shared Services Canada and the other three organizations have revised their life-cycle processes, including procurement, to facilitate and encourage the transfer and reuse of assets, including through donation.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Report 2: Disposing of Government Surplus Goods and Equipment of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada

Summary

In its Spring 2018 Report, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) released a performance audit that examined whether selected federal organizations disposed of surplus goods and equipment at the appropriate time in a manner that maximized benefits. These benefits include selling assets for the best possible return, reusing or refurbishing assets that were still in good condition, donating assets to organizations that could benefit from them, and disposing of assets in an environmentally sustainable way. The OAG concluded that selected federal organizations did not always dispose of surplus goods and equipment in a manner that maximized benefits. The OAG provided three recommendations for Shared Services Canada to:

1. Review their asset life-cycle processes, including procurement, to facilitate and encourage the transfer and reuse of assets.
2. Review internal processes to facilitate the donation of surplus assets.
3. Keep sufficient documentation to justify the disposal methods that they selected and that it should consider working with other departments in standardizing the forms to ensure consistency, and consider all factors when making disposal decisions, such as disposal cost, asset value, and environmental impact.

Note

The Department has implemented the three recommendations in 2018.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

There were no audits in 2018-19 requiring a response.