HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia's auditor general says a cabinet-controlled business loans program that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars lacks monitoring and accountability and is not well managed.
In his fall report released today, Jacques Lapointe says he found examples within the Nova Scotia Jobs Fund of unsecured loans and loans that were approved without any financial assessment.
Lapointe says in some instances, employment and salary targets in final agreements were lower than those used to assess the project's economic benefits.
He says inaccurate information was also provided to cabinet where funding decisions were made.
The report says since the inception of the Nova Scotia Jobs Fund in 2011, $611 million has been approved and $183 million has been disbursed as of Sept. 1.
Lapointe's audit also found the Labour Department's occupational health and safety division does not adequately follow up to ensure that workplace violation orders are enforced.
He says the department does not have a system to log and track complaints in order to ensure they are recorded and investigated.
