From millions spent on unnecessary consultants to a safety authority that lacks proper standards, Ontario’s auditor general found numerous problems in the province:While the province spends $360 million a year on consultants— down from $434 million a decade ago — 80 per cent of the money goes towards information technology help. However, it costs $40,000 a year more to pay a consultant than it would to hire a full-time staffer, even when benefits are added. “It may sound counter-intuitive, but hiring permanent employees can sometimes cost less than consultants,” the auditor general found. She cited the case of a consultant who was given a 14-month, $210,000 contract to develop a software application — a contract that was renewed three times for a total or more than $900,000. A permanent staffer would have cost 40 per cent less. Read more:Ontario Auditor General Report finds Wynne’s ‘free’ tuition scheme far more expensive than promisedMetrolinx improperly approved GO stations under political pressure, Ontario’s auditor general findsThe Technical Standards and Safety Authority — which oversees the safety of everything from elevators to boilers to amusement park rides — has existed for 21 years yet still “does not have consistent inspection standards … and could not explain why it does not periodically inspect some areas … that pose a threat to source water.” TSSA databases are lacking crucial information about the devices and businesses it oversees, and “most” of Ontario’s elevators aren’t up to safety standards. And for two decades, the authority “has done little to enforce and promote the safety of approximately 65,000 installed and operating boilers and pressure vessels.” The province’s 72 school boards spend about $228 million a year on IT, but students have inequitable access to technology in the classroom and there is lit ...
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