The Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador, Denise Hanrahan, today delivered a performance audit of the Food Premises Inspection and Licensing Program to the House of Assembly. The audit reports on findings and recommendations regarding whether the program has effective management, monitoring, and oversight by the Departments of Health and Community Services and Digital Government and Service NL. The audit period was April 2019 through December 2021.

The audit concluded that the Department of Health and Community Services did not maintain proper oversight of the program, while the Department of Digital Government and Service NL did not effectively manage some aspects of the program’s operations, possibly increasing the overall risk to public health.

Health and Community Services’ policies and guidelines were found to be outdated with no established oversight processes beyond the requirements for Digital Government and Service NL to submit annual reports, which were not received during the audit period.

It was also concluded that there were no established processes to ensure policies and guidelines set out by Health and Community Services were followed by Digital Government and Service NL, with a Memorandum of Understanding between the two departments having not been updated since 1999.

The audit full report, as well as an audit overview, can be found by visiting: www.ag.gov.nl.ca.

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“Each year one in eight Canadians are affected by a foodborne illness. It is essential that the province’s Food Premises Inspection and Licensing Program is effectively managed to ensure food premises are complying with legislation in order to reduce the instances of foodborne illness and protect public health and wellness. I am concerned that remote areas of the province were susceptible to extended periods without inspections; that public complaints were not handled in accordance with policy; and that the Memorandum of Understanding between the departments is both outdated and not adhered to. These factors may have made it difficult for both departments to fulfill their roles, possibly resulting in the program not being implemented in a way that aligns with health standards.”
Denise Hanrahan
Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador

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