Charlottetown council releases redacted copy of long-awaited forensic audit

The City of Charlottetown has released a long-awaited forensic audit report, after councillors voted 7-2 to do so during a special meeting Monday night.

Some parts of the 36-page report are blacked out, after the city's lawyers said that had to be done to "meet the City's disclosure obligations pursuant to the Municipal Government Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act."

BDO Canada prepared the report after concerns were raised about how some city finances were being handled. 

Specifically, the auditors mentioned a whistleblower complaint dated Dec. 11, 2019. 

The audit found that "the transactions raised in the Complaint are generally confirmed to have occurred. Certain of the transactions appear to have breached stated procurement or expenditure policies."

However, BDO Canada said its team had not found any instances of potential fraud. It went on to say: "The risk of fraud exists as a result of poor adherence with internal controls or, in some instances, inadequate internal controls." 

One example of redaction in the report reads as follows: "The Complaint includes references to [REDACTED] role and responsibilities. We understand that complaints have been made to Chartered Professional Accountants Prince Edward Island ("CPAPEI") with respect to [REDACTED]. We have not investigated the allegations regarding the professional conduct of [REDACTED] and do not make any comments in respect thereof."

Councillors Mitch Tweel and Bob Doiron were the only councillors who voted against the release of the redacted report on Monday evening.

They said that's because they wanted the full report released, without any sections blacked out.

Coun. Julie McCabe said she was voting in favour of releasing the redacted version because otherwise, legal challenges could have meant a long delay in the public seeing any of BDO's findings. 

Council had received the report on Feb. 6, three weeks before it was released.

Mayor Philip Brown said the forensic audit has cost $230,000 so far, and he suspected some of the the invoices were not yet in.

"The final report has validated my long-held belief that there was no major wrong-doing by our city staff or Council," he was quoted as saying in the news release after the council meeting, which also included a link to the report.

"There were no findings of fraud nor misappropriation of funds although the report did identify deficiencies in internal controls related to procurement and capital project management; BDO's recommendations are being taken seriously."