Question Period Note: The Auditor General Report - Public Accounts Committee Appearance Response

• ISC welcomes the AG report and appreciates the opportunity to reflect on committee members’ comments. We are working with First Nations leadership to ensure they have the tools needed to prepare for and respond to emergency events.
• Moving forward, ISC is working with partners to develop a detailed action plan that will directly address the recommendations in the report.
• ISC will continue to use the report to help inform best practices in working with and supporting First Nation communities, ensuring their safety at all times.

• On November 15, 2022, the Office of the Auditor General tabled its performance audit report on ISC’s emergency management in First Nations. On Friday November 25, 2022, Senior leadership from Indigenous Services Canada appeared in front of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (standing committee).
• The Government of Canada agrees with the seven recommendations in the Office of the Auditor General’s report “Managing Emergencies in First Nations Communities” and Indigenous Services Canada is committed to acting on each recommendation. Indigenous Services Canada reaffirmed this commitment during its appearance in front of the standing committee.
• The Office of the Auditor General examined the Department’s activities related to floods, wildfires, landslides, and severe weather events, because these are the most prevalent types of emergencies affecting First Nation communities.
• The Office of the Auditor General’s preliminary findings consisted of concise claims of ISC’s performance and seven recommendations for improvement, to which the Department agrees with.
• Overall, their findings indicate that ISC did not provide the support First Nation communities needed to manage emergencies, the Department’s actions were more reactive than preventative, and the Department has not identified which communities were the least likely to be able to manage emergencies and does not know whether First Nations received services that were culturally appropriate and comparable to services provided in municipalities of similar sizes.
• The Department has worked extensively with the Office of the Auditor General to clarify the findings and the recommendations, and has validated that the final report is factually accurate.
• The Department has also developed a response to the seven recommendations, which will be included in the report, scheduled to be tabled in Parliament on November 15, 2022.

If pressed on the committees response to the Office of the Auditor General’s Report
• As we develop an action plan, ISC will use committee comments, to ensure we are addressing the recommendations in the report in a timely manner.
• Moving forward, ISC is committed to further engaging First Nations leadership on their emergency management needs. These conversations will determine what must be included in future emergency management agreements.
• ISC will continue to engage with First Nations leadership to ensure that they have the resources needed to build community resilience, and properly prepare for the next emergency event.