Editorial...Same old, same old

Sitting governments-- at either the provincial or federal level-- must look forward to Auditor General reports the way the rest of us anticipate a root canal from a dentist with a bad case of the shakes. Usually such reports detail how the government and agencies under its purview waste taxpayers' hard-earned money. Such was the case this week when provincial Auditor General Jim McCarter's report outlined a litany of problems with the way Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government spends tax dollars. Among the lowlights: · Children's Aid Society (CAS) assessments for vulnerable children were not done in time in 73 per cent of the cases · One CAS executive received a $2,000 gym membership and an additional $2,600 for a personal trainer · Two senior CAS executives were given SUVs worth $53,000 and $59,000 · 725 doctors, no longer licensed, were still submitting OHIP claims · 5.7 million red and white health cards, which were to be phased out by 2000, will take another 14 years to convert to photo ID cards · One teacher spent $52,000 over two years using a school board purchasing card. Included in that total was $4,000 spent during a summer break on DVDs, eyeglasses and Christmas lights. · Three senior school board staff members went to Las Vegas for a four-day conference but stayed a week and charged $660 for a one-week car rental · There is a 7,000-case backlog of fraud investigations involving OHIP cards While Auditor General reports are predictable for their detailing of poor fiscal management by governments and agencies, the reaction of those governments and agencies is equally predictable. To that end McGuinty didn't disappoint, vowing he will take steps to fix the problem while admitting "we have not been getting good value for our dollars". Jeannette Lewis, executive director of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies says her agencies will "act swiftly" on the report. Now that the government has had its hand slapped and various employees have been "outed" we can be confident that OUR money will no longer be spent foolishly. That is, until we get next year's Auditor General's report.