OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa’s new auditor general will look at the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that won’t happen until the virus is in a controlled state.
At her first Audit Committee meeting as AG, held virtually on Tuesday, Nathalie Gougeon outlined the plan for her office in 2021.
She says reviewing the city’s response to COVID-19 is important, but it won’t happen right away.
“While the review of the city’s response to the pandemic is a very key area for us to review, we will be refraining from commencing any work in this area until we believe the pandemic is in a controlled state for the city,” she said. “We do not want to interfere in the city’s ability to deliver the very important services to its residents. As such, I do not anticipate our office commencing any work in this area until either later this year or early 2022.”
Gougeon says this will be a “multi-phased audit”. She anticipates that there are many areas within how the city responded to the pandemic and she would like to “dive in to those areas.”
Gougeon was appointed auditor general during a Dec. 18, 2020 council meeting. She assumed her new role on Feb. 1 and her appointment is for a seven-year, non-renewable term that ends Jan. 31, 2028. She is a bilingual chartered professional accountant and a certified internal auditor. The city says she has more than 15 years of experience in the audit field.
