Janice Leahy is the acting auditor general of New Brunswick. (Image submitted)
The provincial government has spent over $39 million on funding rural internet projects since 2003.
New Brunswick’s acting auditor general Janice Leahy tried to find out if the investment was achieving its goal.
As part of her latest report released today in the legislature, the audit found that although modern high-speed internet is an essential service, 36 per cent of rural New Brunswick households did not have access in 2019.
The auditees were the Regional Development Corporation and Opportunities NB.
While the recent Opportunities NB funding of $8.2 million did contribute to infrastructure upgrades, Leahy said key information was missing.
“ONB was unable to tell us if the technical solution was designed to serve all the potential users of the service. They weren’t able to provide detail – for example – of statements of work and project budgets, for us to determine if Xplornet work completed was in agreement with what was originally proposed.”
Leahy noted how ONB and the Regional Development Corporation didn’t pursue a competitive process for selecting Xplornet – the funding recipient.
“So overall, it remains unclear whether investment by the province in rural broadband projects has adequately addressed connectivity issues in rural areas as intended.”
Leahy made 13 recommendations relating to oversight and accountability of government programs, contracting processes and evaluation of claims.
The full report is available HERE.
