Tipsters file hundreds of complaints with Ottawa's fraud hotline this year
Ottawa's auditor general is seeing a "significant increase" in the number of complaints filed to the city's fraud hotline this year, as people file hundreds of anonymous tips about potential fraud and waste at city hall.
"People might have more time on their hands during the pandemic but that would be pure speculation," said Nathalie Gougeon when asked about the spike in tips to the hotline during the second year of the pandemic.
During an appearance before the Audit Committee, Gougeon told councillors her office has received 500 complaints so far in 2021, compared to 200 complaints during a normal year. There were 204 tips to the hotline in 2020, including 114 from municipal employees and 90 from the public.
Coun. Carol Anne Meehan wondered if many of the tips were from people wondering if municipal employees were "working hard enough" during the pandemic, when many people are working from home.
"I've heard people say, 'Oh, I saw so-and-so out walking their dog.' I said I walk my dog in between meetings and I'm not going to make apologies for it," said Meehan.
Gougeon responded, "The nature of the reports that are coming in are a vast variety, as they are every year, so I wouldn't necessarily say that there's more specific attributed to those working from home."
The auditor general says it can be time consuming to review the 500 reports to decide how to proceed.
"Many of us look at each report that comes in. Myself, both deputy auditor's general as well as one of the senior auditors in our team. We want to make sure that we're triaging everything appropriately, so it does warrant a lot of attention," said Gougeon.
The auditor general says her office will forward complaints to management to investigate and report back, "in other instances if we're seeing something more systemic, we will likely hang onto it and take a look at it ourselves."
A report on the 2021 fraud and waste hotline will be released in April.
Ottawa's fraud and waste hotline was launched in 2005 in order to facilitate the reporting of suspected fraud or waste by municipal employees. It's operated independently by a third party, WhistleBlower Security.
Last year, three city employees were fired following tips to the fraud and waste hotline, one of whom took more than six weeks of vacation without recording it. Two employees were suspended without pay for washing their personal vehicles on city property.
2022-2023 AUDIT WORKPLAN
The auditor general's office currently has audits in progress on the Light Rail Transit system, zero-emission buses for OC Transpo and the pandemic response by the city.
A report for Friday's audit committee meeting outlined other areas for audits in 2022, including cybersecurity, prevention of workplace violence and harassment, affordable housing and the management of roadways.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.