Larissa Kurz
Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor says that in order for a hotel procurement pilot inside the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) to be of value, internal data collection needs to vastly improve.
Tara Clemett’s office added the hotel procurement policy to its list for review after it was made public that the ministry was paying increased rates for a client at a motel linked to former MLA Gary Grewal, who was recently found to have breached conflict of interest laws.
Analysis of the ministry’s procurement policy over the last three years shows that previous practices were not “spending public money wisely” and only better record-keeping can provide a basis for improvement, according to Volume 2 of the provincial auditor’s 2024 report released Tuesday.
The ministry paid a total of $3.6 million in 2023-24 on hotel rooms, up from $3.1 million in 2022-23 and $2.7 million in 2021-22. Clemett called this a “significant increase” from years prior.
Poor existing data meant Clemett could not fully assess previous practices, including a policy on paying damage deposits up front in addition to room rates. She suggested the ministry create a centralized spreadsheet that includes rate costs, room utilization and invoices paid to determine “what is working.”
Her review also looked at the first five months (March to July 2024) of two pilot programs undertaken by the ministry in an attempt to get lower rates for clients.
“Social services needs to centrally collect reliable data related to these two pilots so it can conduct a robust evaluation,” Clemett said Tuesday.
She noted her review was “focused on improving their process,” not addressing potential conflicts of interest.
One of the pilots directed social workers to obtain at least three room quotes before selecting a hotel, giving preference to the lowest rate. The other is an agreement between the ministry and a hotel in Regina and another in Saskatoon to hold a block of five rooms for social services clients at a set rate.
“We want to experiment, see if this will give us lower prices,” former social services minister Gene Makowsky said when the changes were announced in February.
Ministry employees now collect a “quote list” weekly from participating hotels to have on hand, estimated to take around five hours per week to compile, Clemett noted. And in light of preferred reporting standards in Alberta and Manitoba, she has urged the ministry to alter its reporting practices to make payments to vendors public.
“Making this information readily available will allow the public to hold the government and private sector accountable for the use of public sector funds,” she said.
Meara Conway, Opposition critic for ethics and democracy, said the auditor’s read on the ministry’s data practices does not incite “confidence” in the results of the pilot.
It was Conway who first brought questions about hotel spending to the house last year.
“I just have a big, huge question mark about what the ministry is doing to address the underlying issues and whether we’re actually working towards a sufficient solve and, right now, I’m not at all satisfied that’s the case,” she said. “Pilots are to collect data. One of the auditor’s biggest complaints is we just don’t have data and they aren’t tracking certain things.”
Clemett also called for a detailed plan from the ministry regarding the 534 still-vacant social housing units under the purview of Regina Housing.
“Over the past several years, Regina has had the highest vacancy rate across corporation-owned housing units,” she said. “I think this is indicative that they need to do more in Regina.”
Assessed building conditions for Regina units have been classified as “poor overall,” said Clemett, adding that the ministry has not identified a detailed plan to address that issue.
“It comes down to what the corporation is willing to spend,” she said.
The estimated cost to have those units vacant is about $1.2 million, reads the report, and Regina currently has a 400-person waitlist for those seeking housing.
Clemett’s latest report also touched on regulation of foreign-owned farmland, timely dispatching for fire emergencies, how SaskPower is transitioning to non-emitting energy sources, and more.
