By Canadian Press

Five things you need to know about the auditor general and environment audits

Jun 10, 2025 | 12:18 PM

OTTAWA — Canada’s auditor general and environment commissioner both released reports Tuesday covering everything from the soaring cost of fighter jets to the federal government’s plans for climate change adaptation.

Here are five things you need to know.

F-35 costs soar amid project delays, pilot shortages

The estimated cost of Canada’s incoming fleet of advanced stealth fighters exploded by nearly 50 per cent in just a few years, auditor general Karen Hogan said.

She concluded that costs associated with the F-35 advanced fighter jet program are running $8.7 billion higher than the original estimates.

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And she warns the program is being plagued by delays and critical shortfalls — including a lack of qualified pilots.

Federal organizations failed to follow procurement and security rules

Hogan found federal organizations failed to follow procurement and security rules when awarding contracts to the company behind the controversial ArriveCan app.

An audit of GCStrategies found the company was awarded 106 contracts by 31 federal organizations between 2015 and 2024. The maximum value of those contracts was more than $90 million but only $65 million was paid out.

Hogan’s report says many contracts did not follow procurement rules and organizations often provided little evidence to show the work had actually been done.

The report says that, for half of the contracts that required security clearances, federal organizations weren’t able to show that those doing the work had the appropriate clearance before the contract was awarded.

Ottawa’s plan for climate change adaptation falls short

Ottawa’s efforts to prepare the country for the impacts of climate change have stumbled out of the gate, Canada’s environment commissioner said.

Jerry DeMarco concluded the National Adaptation Strategy was not effectively designed, did not prioritize Canada’s climate change risks and only established one of three components since its release in 2023.

Federal government slow to reduce, modernize its office space

Hogan also found that while Public Services and Procurement Canada has had plans to downsize its office space footprint since 2019, that footprint has reduced only two per cent because full-scale implementation only began in 2024.

Her report says the slow progress is mainly due to a lack of funding.

Ottawa too slow to process First Nations status applications

Indigenous Services Canada has failed to process applications for registration under the Indian Act within the required six-month timeline — leaving many First Nations people unable to access on-reserve housing, financial aid for post-secondary education and health benefits, Hogan said.

She said more than eight in 10 applications processed by the department exceeded the six-month service standard. Some of those were priority applications for older people or those with health issues.

She also found a backlog of nearly 12,000 applications, including 1,500 that were more than two years old.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press