Scrutiny Uncovers Oversight Gaps In Canada’s COVID-19 Business Loan Program

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The federal government’s response to the pandemic included the launch of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), aimed at providing much-needed relief to small businesses affected by public health restrictions. This initiative was expected to empower small enterprises, offering them interest-free loans of up to $60,000, with avenues for loan forgiveness if certain conditions were met. While the rollout of CEBA was swift and aimed at aiding the economic sector crippled by COVID-19, recent audits have uncovered substantial concerns about the program’s management, particularly its oversight of contract spending.

According to the report released by Canada’s Auditor General, Karen Hogan, significant weaknesses marred the administration of CEBA, especially with the reliance on the Crown corporation Export Development Canada (EDC) to handle the claims. Notably, over 90 percent of EDC’s $230 million administrative expenses went to Accenture, reported as operating under sole-source contracts due to EDC’s admitted lack of capacity to manage the program independently. This arrangement raised alarms within the auditing review, primarily due to apparent lapses in proper scrutiny over the tasks assigned to Accenture, which allowed the consulting giant to dictate the scope, costs, and parameters of the contracts without adequate checks.

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