Auditor General Sheila Fraser reads her opening statement during a news conference before tabling her report in the House of Commons in May 2006. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

The position of auditor general, in its current role as a watchdog holding the government accountable for its spending, began in 1977 with the Auditor General Act. That law established the auditor general as an official who not only made sure the government's books were accurate, but also weighed in on how the government's policies are implemented.

The governor general, on the advice of Parliament, appoints the auditor general for a 10-year term, so the position is independent of the government of the day.

In 1994, the law was changed to allow the auditor general to publish up to four reports a year, giving the position a stronger voice.

Over the years, the auditor general's report has revealed government mismanagement, boondoggles, excess and financial messes.

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2007

October:

• Potentially dangerous people may have slipped into Canada because of weaknesses at the country's border agency.
• The government has been lax in allowing secrets to get into the hands of private contractors who do not have proper security clearance.

» Auditor General's Report October 2007

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2006

Giovanni Interdonato checks out the scope on a hunting rifle in this photo from 2002. The Conservative government has tabled a bill that would kill the registry for long guns. (Kevin Frayer/Canadian Press)

May:

• The former Liberal government misinformed Parliament about millions of dollars in expenses incurred by the gun registry.
• Undisputed taxes owing totalled more than $18 billion as of March 2005, but the Canada Revenue Agency "is not collecting the data it needs to understand what makes up the tax debt and why it is growing."


» Auditor General's Report May 2006

Ron Stewart in his office in Ottawa, Nov. 29, 1977, after being named the new correctional investigator for the solicitor-general of Canada. He retired in 2003. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

November:

• Ron Stewart, a former CFL football star and former ombudsman for federal prison inmates, is alleged to have often skipped work and collected $325,000 in improper or questionable salary, vacation pay and expenses during a six-year period of his 26 years in office.
• A sampling of seven of the 88 information technology projects launched since 2003, worth $7.1 billion, found rampant mismanagement. Many were far over budget and long past deadline.
• Treaty negotiations with First Nations in British Columbia badly bogged down, with not a single treaty signed as costs skyrocketed to $426 million since 1993.


» Auditor General's Report November 2006

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2005

February:

• Canadians' sensitive personal information, held by various federal government departments, is vulnerable to security breaches from hackers.


» Auditor General's Report February 2005

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2004

Former head of Canada Post André Ouellet (Canadian Press)

February:
• More details of waste in the sponsorship program and at five Crown corporations: the RCMP, Via Rail, Canada Post, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Old Port of Montreal.
• The surplus of the employment insurance system reaches a record $43.8 billion. Most people calling EI centres for assistance get busy signals.


» Auditor General's Report February 2004

March:
• Fraser focuses on security and finds government departments and agencies can't efficiently share security information. As well, she finds that Transport Canada has no access to RCMP criminal intelligence that could be used when screening airport employees.


» Auditor General's Report March 2004

November:
• The employment insurance surplus has ballooned to $46 billion. Fraser says the surplus is more than triple the maximum reserve that the chief actuary of Human Resources Development Canada considered sufficient in 2001.


» Auditor General's Report November 2004

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2003

Jean Brault, former president of Groupaction. (CP file photo)

February:
• The auditor general calls for an RCMP investigation of $1.6 million worth of contracts to the Groupaction ad agency, saying senior Public Works Department officials "broke just about every rule in the book" handing out the contracts.
  
  September:
• The auditor general asks for an RCMP investigation into the "reign of terror" of former privacy commissioner George Radwanski, alleging overspending and cronyism in the department.

But the office of the auditor general hasn't been without controversy itself.

In early 1997, the auditor general's office hired new auditors after cutting its staff by 60 people by buying them out and offering them early retirement. The auditor general had criticized other government departments for doing the same thing.

The move prompted some critics of the auditor general to ask, "Who watches the watchers?"

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2002

The report

October:

• The federal government lacks an adequate system for tracking or monitoring health care spending by the provinces
• Ottawa has issued more social insurance numbers than there are adults in Canada; there are about 5 million extra SINs
  
  December:
  
• Sheila Fraser targets Ottawa's gun registry program, saying not only is the program hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, but the government kept increased costs from Parliament. Instead of the $2-million net cost predicted in 1995, the price tag on the registry is now expected to reach $1 billion by 2004.

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2001

• The federal Employment Insurance plan has a surplus of $36 billion in the previous year, even though its own actuary says it only needs $15 billion
• The military is crippled by underfunding; mechanics had to borrow batteries from the Spanish air force to keep its CF-18 jets in the air over the former Yugoslavia
• A home heating grants plan costing $1.4 billion put only $250 million in the hands of those who deserved it; other cheques go to high-income earners, pensioners and 7,500 dead people

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2000

• Human Resources and Development Canada mismanages job-grants programs and the government continues to understate the problem
• CIDA grants a $6.3-million contract to a company headed by a friend of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien

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1999

• Health Canada isn't equipped to handle outbreaks of deadly viruses coming into the country
• A widespread kickback scheme involving military personnel and gas stations is revealed
• Ottawa has violated its own rules in awarding a military training contract to Bombardier

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1998

• The downsizing of 30,000 civil servants cost taxpayers $1.8 billion by March 1997 and could cost as much as $3.2 billion
• Fraud involving the SIN system is costing the government at least $33 million a year; there are over 300,000 active social insurance numbers for people over 100 years old, most of whom have died

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1997

• Revenue Canada breaks the law by awarding a duty-free shop licence to a foreign company
• Tax evasion on cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline and jewellery is costing the government $500 million a year
• A $500-million health program for native Canadians is contributing to drug abuse among the people it's supposed to help

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1996

• Two family trusts totalling $2 billion are moved tax-free from Canada to the U.S. because of secretive tax rulings

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1990

• CIDA financed an inefficient Pakistani coal-washing plant to the tune of $2.3 million, without first completing a feasibility study

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1988

• The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has inadequate control over some of its spending
• There's no way of knowing if federal money for native bands is being used for its intended purpose
• The military doesn't own enough ammunition to fight a war

1986

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• The CBC's financial reports can not be verified because its accounting system has lost track of $57 million

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1985

• The Canadian High Commission buys memberships in a Hong Kong marina club at a cost of $773,500