Federal government faces costly path to recoup wrongly paid aid, auditor says

The federal auditor general is giving the Trudeau government a sort of back-handed compliment on how it handled the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karen Hogan says the government moved as fast as it could to respond to the pandemic, but on the other hand it wasn't prepared for one in the first place.

Hogan's report on the government's response found the Public Health Agency of Canada spent years letting elements of pandemic preparedness slide.

She found the government's financial support programs rolled out well, but now extensive efforts will be needed to ensure the money went where it was supposed to.

Karen Hogan says in one case, the Public Health Agency of Canada was not prepared for a national quarantine program.

Hogan also found the government's financial support programs rolled out well, but now extensive efforts will be needed to ensure the money went where it was supposed to.