2019 Annual Report Volume 3

Office of the Auditor General of Ontario Annual Report 2019 Reports on Correctional Services and Court Operations Volume 3 Annual Report 2019 Office of the Auditor General of Ontario To the Honourable Speaker of the Legislative Assembly In my capacity as the Auditor General, I am pleased to submit to you Volume 3 of the 2019 Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario to lay befo [...] The government and Members of the Legisla- While the issues facing these institutions are tive Assembly must make difficult decisions on the unique, the institutions are significantly impacted allocation of taxpayer dollars to programs and ser- by the work of the Ministry of the Attorney General vices in Ontario. [...] The the services available to inmates both when they province also paid about $145 million in judicial are in the correctional institutions and when they salaries, including benefits, to the Ontario Court return to the community, the working conditions in the same year. [...] One result of this backlog is the increasing age of the cases pending Despite limitations placed on our audit work by disposition: cases pending disposition for more the Offices of the Chief Justices of the Ontario than eight months increased by 19%, from about Court and the Superior Court and the Ministry, we 31,000 cases in 2014/15 to about 37,000 cases in were able to determine that effective a [...] Much of the of times weapons were found increased by manual recording related to the care and 414% and the number of times drugs and custody of inmates is because the Offender alcohol were found in institutions increased Tracking Information System used in all the by 136%.