Ontario Auditor General Shelley Spence delivered a damning assessment of two provincial ministries on Monday and criticized the Ford government for ineffective processes, underfunded services and a lack of oversight.
In her latest report, the independent, non-partisan auditor looked at the province’s child and youth mental health (CYMH) program and water quality standards. Here are some key takeaways from the two performance audit reports.
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
In 2018, one of Doug Ford’s first acts as premier of Ontario was to transfer the responsibility of children’s mental health services from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to the Ministry of Health (MOH). However, in her latest report, the auditor general found that the services are still separately overseen by two entities: MOH and Ontario Health.
“We found that MOH did not have fully effective processes in place to allocate funds and plan and oversee mental health services delivered by CYMH service providers for children, youth and their families in the community, in accordance with legislation, agreements and policies,” the report notes.
Between 2023 and 2024, the MOH provided over $530 million in transfer payments through its CYMH program to over 220 organizations, according to the report. Some of those organizations include agencies that deliver mental health services such as counselling, therapy and intensive treatment to children and youth under 18, and their families.
The auditor general’s report said these services “were not always provided in an evidence-based, timely, equitable and co-ordinated manner” and that allocated funding “did not fully reflect the current needs of people in different parts of Ontario or programs in areas with the highest needs.”
The report also found that the MOH “did not routinely measure or report publicly on the results and effectiveness of these services in meeting their intended objectives.”
The ministry has agreed to adopt 22 recommendations laid out in the report.
WATER QUALITY STANDARDS
According to the government, over 98 per cent of all samples taken from non-municipal drinking-water systems have met the province’s drinking water quality standards. However, the auditor general says that assurance does not extend to all non-municipal drinking water because not all water is tested.
“Private wells and intakes, which are not considered to be drinking-water systems, have no testing requirements and are not included in the test results noted above,” the report notes. “Drinking-water systems, which do have testing requirements, are generally not required to test for all contaminants. In addition, not all system owners test their water as required.”
The auditor found that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and MOH, “did not collectively have effective processes and systems in place” to oversee all non-municipal drinking-water systems, including “inspecting systems at the required frequency, and ensure their compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and policies.”
The report says the ministries failed to “educate users of private wells and intakes about the availability of water testing and the risks of not testing or treating their drinking water” and “identify and manage all health risks related to non-municipal drinking water.”
The auditor also found that MECP “did not have complete and accurate data on private wells” and that MOH “did not fully measure, evaluate and publicly report on progress against its drinking-water program outcomes.”
Both ministries have accepted the auditor’s 17 recommendations.