The Office of the Auditor General of the City of Ottawa has launched a new public awareness campaign to educate residents and city staff about the city’s Fraud and Waste Hotline, reinforcing efforts to protect public resources and integrity across municipal operations. “The fraud and waste hotline is a really important tool that the city has. And we’re hoping to raise awareness about what the hotline is, who can use it, and what to use it for,” says auditor general Nathalie Gougeon. “The whole purpose of the hotline is to obviously deter people from committing any sort of inappropriate activity or acts, but also to detect them when they are occurring.” The hotline number is 1-866-959-9309. Gougeon says her office receives more than 300 tips a year. March is Fraud Prevention Month, and the campaign aims to highlight the importance of the hotline — a confidential and anonymous reporting tool that allows both city employees and members of the public to report suspected cases of fraud, waste, or serious wrongdoing within city operations, resources, or vendor relationships. Gougeon says examples of fraud includes misuse or inappropriate use of city resources. “A great example would be a city employee using a city vehicle for personal reasons,” says Gourgeon. “A great example of how successful (the hotline) is, about a year ago, we actually reported on what appeared to be a kickback scheme between a group of landlords and a city employee. And this particular situation was actually impacting the most vulnerable population of the city. So, it did exactly what it was intended to do. We had allegations brought to our attention. We investigated them and we reported on the matter as timely as possible.” The awareness initiative aims to spread information about how to access and use the hotline, and to encourage community members to come forward when they suspect fraudulent or wasteful activities involving city personnel or services. “it’s important to report both the small and the larger issues, because the whole purpose of the hotline is to help deter individuals. When individuals are aware that we are performing these types of investigations, they’re less likely to actually even think about committing any of these acts to start off with. My team’s responsibility is to take a look at the allegations when they come in,” says Gourgeon. The auditor general stresses, “Our slogan for the hotline is ‘see something, say something.’ I would say, if you’re unsure about whether to report something or not, report it, and we’ll be able to let you know whether or not it’s significant enough for us to take a look at it.” The campaign is also timed to prepare for the upcoming tabling of the 2025 report on the fraud and waste hotline, which will be presented at an audit committee meeting on March 31. “The whole purpose of the hotline and the whole purpose of my mandate is to hold city council and the administration accountable for the prudent use of taxpayer dollars. And so, this goes to the heart of what our mandate is,” Gougeon says. Residents and city staff are encouraged to learn more about the hotline or submit a report by visiting the official resource page at ottawa.ca/fraudwaste.
