The federal auditor general, normally a relentless critic of government waste, loose planning and sloppiness, offered some rare praise after delving into Agriculture Canada’s rural development program.
In a report to Parliament, auditor general Denis Desautels had little but praise for the $60 million annual Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development fund.
CARD was created in 1995 to help rural communities cope with falling government support and subsidies. National programs are allocated $35 million and provincial councils distribute the remaining $25 million.
“There is a great deal of competence and enthusiasm within the councils,” said the report. “The success of this program can, in part, be attributed to these factors.”
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While suggesting the government could do a better job clarifying guidelines on spending CARD money and following its results, the auditor general was impressed that the federal government was allowing local people to design programs. He titled his flattering report: “An example of involving others in governing.”
Public input
The report said Agriculture Canada has created a good system of having national rules on use of the money while giving councils considerable freedom to set local priorities.
“We found that a reasonable balance has been struck between giving the industry councils freedom to make the best decisions and respecting the public purpose of the funds.”
However, now that CARD has been transformed into a permanent program, the auditor general warned that the excitement within provincial councils may begin to waver and “the momentum of success will also wane.” He suggested Ottawa develop some new accountability rules for a permanent program.
Desautels noted the CARD fund was created after severe budget cuts for federal agricultural and rural programs.
“This strategy was designed to foster a growing, diversified competitive sector and a healthy rural economy and to help offset the impact of eliminating transportation support and reducing safety net subsidies,” said the report.
It also was part of a federal strategy “of bringing decision-making closer to citizens, making government more cost effective and involving the sector more directly in funding decisions.”
The auditor general clearly thinks the government has met those goals.
