Auditor General Tables Audit Reports on Overtime, Garbage Collection, 3-1-1 and an Independent Assessment of Audit Quality

November 3, 2026 

Ottawa – Today, Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon tabled five reports with the Audit Committee, including a Review of Overtime, an Audit of Curbside Garbage Collection, an Audit of 3-1-1, an independent External Quality Assessment of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), and a Semi-Annual Report on Follow-up Procedures. 

The Review of Overtime found that overtime has become a significant and ongoing part of OC Transpo's operations. The review identified heavy reliance on manual processes, particularly in Transit Fleet Maintenance, creating inefficiencies and increasing the risk of errors. It also found weaknesses in documentation and monitoring practices that limit transparency, oversight, and the City's ability to demonstrate value for money. 

Mme Gougeon stated that “our findings suggest that overtime has become an established way of managing operational pressures within OC Transpo. Addressing the underlying factors driving that reliance, while improving monitoring and modernizing administrative processes, will be important to supporting long-term sustainability and value for money.”  

The Auditor General found in her Audit of Curbside Garbage Collection that, while the City has made significant operational changes in supporting waste diversion and reducing landfill reliance, improvements are needed to promote consistent application of curbside collection requirements. The audit identified gaps in operational guidance, training, and monitoring practices, and found that available compliance and enforcement tools are used infrequently to address recurring non-compliance. 

The Auditor General found that 3-1-1 is generally fulfilling its role as the City's centralized customer service function. However, the audit identified opportunities to improve service delivery and efficiency, including response times, call abandonment rates, consistency of handling resident interactions, and documentation practices supporting service requests. 

The Auditor General also tabled the results of an independent External Quality Assessment, which concluded that the OAG fully achieves conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards, the highest rating available through the assessment process and the highest level of recognition an audit function can receive. 

Mme Gougeon noted that "People are often surprised to learn that auditors get audited too. Independent assessments like this one are an important part of ensuring we hold ourselves to the same standards of accountability that we expect of others." 

Full copies of the reports are available on the Auditor General’s website, www.oagottawa.ca.  

For further information, contact: 
(613) 580-9602 
OAG@ottawa.ca