Auditor general's office fires two employees for taking government contracts on the side

Two employees at the office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) have been fired for making money from federal contracts while working for federal auditor Karen Hogan.

 A third employee is still under investigation after failing to disclose the contracts to their managers, Hogan's office confirmed to CTV News.

According to a statement, the OAG found out about one case in January of 2023 and another in June of that same year.

Neither of the two were a manager or an auditor in the department.

"Based on the results of the investigations, the OAG revoked the individuals' security clearance and terminated employment," said senior communications adviser Natasha Leduc, in a statement.

In January both cases had been referred to the RCMP but were then referred to the Ottawa Police Service, a month later, on advice from the RCMP. 

"We have seen that procurement processes and contract processes within the public service are sometimes unacceptable," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when asked about the revelations.

"Canadians have a right to accept and expect that their governments in all the work they do at the political level, yes, but also at the non political level, be responsible and efficient stewards of taxpayer dollars, and that's why we're taking this so seriously," added Trudeau. "We will be making changes."

It comes days after another public servant came out publicly, claiming he took the proper steps to avoid a conflict of interest when his company worked on the controversial ArriveCan app.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Dalian Enterprises Inc. says its founder, David Yeo, took steps to address concerns before going to work for the Department of National Defence (DND).

CTV News has previously reported that Yeo was a DND employee when Dalian was given $7.9 million for work on the ArriveCan App.

The company claims Yeo began working for DND “long after” Dalian finished work on the app, which has been at the centre of controversy for its inflated costs.

A spokesperson for Dalian says before working on the contract, Yeo resigned as a director and put his company shares in a blind trust.