Last week, this blogger broke stories on how the Vancouver Olympic committee cancelled its final instalment of bonuses for certain workers and that the Department of Canadian Heritage found discrepancies in the use of federal taxpayers' funds by VANOC.
Canadian Heritage was the ministry that oversaw federal involvement with and funding of the Olympics. The October 2010-dated audit document was itself dated Dec. 8, 2010. It appeared on the Canadian Heritage website's audits and evaluation section very quietly, after Christmas... after the Dec. 17, 2010 VANOC post-Games financial report and after the Dec. 23, 2010 Government-wide Canada's Games report. The latter report did not answer a key question: how much did the feds spend?
Canadian Heritage didn't find any improprieties and made no recommendations to VANOC. But the auditors who went over VANOC books last May and June and found $10 million in accounting discrepancies that needed adjusting. They were unable to look at how ceremonies producer David Atkins used almost $500,000 because the files were in Australia.
Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore was "not available" according to his press secretary. VANOC chief financial officer John McLaughlin did not respond directly to my queries about the cancelled bonuses or the Canadian Heritage audit. But if VANOC had to rejig its books after the audit, it may be reasonable that the first place it turned was the trust fund that contained those bonuses.
A trust fund that was reported quarterly in 2008 and 2009, but mysteriously not in the only report issued in 2010.
Here is the Canadian Heritage audit.
Canadian Heritage VANOC audit, October 2010
Showing posts with label Canadian Heritage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canadian Heritage. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Putting two and two together
Last week, this blogger broke stories on how the Vancouver Olympic committee cancelled its final instalment of bonuses for certain workers and that the Department of Canadian Heritage found discrepancies in the use of federal taxpayers' funds by VANOC.
Canadian Heritage was the ministry that oversaw federal involvement with and funding of the Olympics. The October 2010-dated audit document was itself dated Dec. 8, 2010. It appeared on the Canadian Heritage website's audits and evaluation section very quietly, after Christmas... after the Dec. 17, 2010 VANOC post-Games financial report and after the Dec. 23, 2010 Government-wide Canada's Games report. The latter report did not answer a key question: how much did the feds spend?
Canadian Heritage didn't find any improprieties and made no recommendations to VANOC. But the auditors who went over VANOC books last May and June and found $10 million in accounting discrepancies that needed adjusting. They were unable to look at how ceremonies producer David Atkins used almost $500,000 because the files were in Australia.
Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore was "not available" according to his press secretary. VANOC chief financial officer John McLaughlin did not respond directly to my queries about the cancelled bonuses or the Canadian Heritage audit. But if VANOC had to rejig its books after the audit, it may be reasonable that the first place it turned was the trust fund that contained those bonuses.
A trust fund that was reported quarterly in 2008 and 2009, but mysteriously not in the only report issued in 2010.
Here is the Canadian Heritage audit.
Canadian Heritage VANOC audit, October 2010
Canadian Heritage was the ministry that oversaw federal involvement with and funding of the Olympics. The October 2010-dated audit document was itself dated Dec. 8, 2010. It appeared on the Canadian Heritage website's audits and evaluation section very quietly, after Christmas... after the Dec. 17, 2010 VANOC post-Games financial report and after the Dec. 23, 2010 Government-wide Canada's Games report. The latter report did not answer a key question: how much did the feds spend?
Canadian Heritage didn't find any improprieties and made no recommendations to VANOC. But the auditors who went over VANOC books last May and June and found $10 million in accounting discrepancies that needed adjusting. They were unable to look at how ceremonies producer David Atkins used almost $500,000 because the files were in Australia.
Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore was "not available" according to his press secretary. VANOC chief financial officer John McLaughlin did not respond directly to my queries about the cancelled bonuses or the Canadian Heritage audit. But if VANOC had to rejig its books after the audit, it may be reasonable that the first place it turned was the trust fund that contained those bonuses.
A trust fund that was reported quarterly in 2008 and 2009, but mysteriously not in the only report issued in 2010.
Here is the Canadian Heritage audit.
Canadian Heritage VANOC audit, October 2010
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Exclusive: PM pumping Personal Podium
A Nov. 6, 2007 Department of Canadian Heritage report by assistant deputy minister Marie-Genevieve Mounier titled Government of Canada Opportunities Related to Cultural Olympiad offers a hint of a new program that may be launched Thursday when the one-year countdown to Vancouver 2010 is observed. An excerpt of the document, obtained under Access to Information, is below:
Opportunity: Hosting the Olympics is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The Cultural Olympiad could provide a springboard to launch a nation-wide challenge to strengthen Canadian communities by encouraging every citizen to commit to a Personal Podium. Personal Podium is a concept that would complement existing events such as the Olympic torch relays (sic) and live sites. Citizen commitments would be related to the three Olympic pillars of sports, culture and environment. Commitments could be themed to complement Canadians' strong interest in:
Adopting healthier living habits,
Participating in cultural activities,
Protecting the environment.
Implementation: The 2008 Cultural Olympiad will be a relatively modest arts festival showcasing primarily British Columbia artistic talent. The February 2009 Cultural Olympiad will feature talent from across Canada and could be broadened to include a nation-wide effort launched by the Prime Minister to mark the one-year countdown to the 2010 Games. The Prime Minister, standing with a wide range of Canadians from all walks of life including well-known athletes and artists, would launch his Personal Podium and challenge all Canadians to do the same.
Opportunity: Hosting the Olympics is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The Cultural Olympiad could provide a springboard to launch a nation-wide challenge to strengthen Canadian communities by encouraging every citizen to commit to a Personal Podium. Personal Podium is a concept that would complement existing events such as the Olympic torch relays (sic) and live sites. Citizen commitments would be related to the three Olympic pillars of sports, culture and environment. Commitments could be themed to complement Canadians' strong interest in:
Adopting healthier living habits,
Participating in cultural activities,
Protecting the environment.
Implementation: The 2008 Cultural Olympiad will be a relatively modest arts festival showcasing primarily British Columbia artistic talent. The February 2009 Cultural Olympiad will feature talent from across Canada and could be broadened to include a nation-wide effort launched by the Prime Minister to mark the one-year countdown to the 2010 Games. The Prime Minister, standing with a wide range of Canadians from all walks of life including well-known athletes and artists, would launch his Personal Podium and challenge all Canadians to do the same.
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