REGINA -- Saskatchewan’s Provincial Auditor released part two of her annual report on Tuesday, noting several suggestions for Saskatchewan’s branches of government.

Judy Ferguson releases two reports each year, aiming to promote accountability and better management in the Government of Saskatchewan’s public resources.

Part two of the 2020 report includes a number of recommendations for the government, including increased cyber security for eHealth Saskatchewan, more specific waste reduction targets, increased pest mitigation in crops and pastures and further clarification for the Provincial Capital Commission’s processes for approving major developments.

EHEALTH CYBER-SECURITY

Ferguson also noted eHealth Saskatchewan’s IT strength as an area of concern.

The report states eHealth requires better risk-based processes for controlling IT network access, to reduce the impact and extent of security breaches. eHealth was the target of cyber attacks earlier this year.

Ferguson recommends eHealth implement a risk-based plan for controlling network access to mitigate the impact of security breaches and utilizes key network security logs and scans to effectively monitor the eHealth IT network and detect malicious activity.

“Controlling IT network access helps mitigate the risk of security breaches, and the extent of breaches. Effective IT network monitoring helps timely detection of malicious activity and mitigate the risks of a successful attack on its corporate network,” the report states.

MATERIAL-SPECIFIC RECYCLING TARGETS

Within the report, Ferguson made suggestions for recycling programs in Saskatchewan, to better understand if the province will meet its waste reduction goals.

She reports the Ministry of Environment’s waste-diversion recycling programs each need material-specific targets to help it divert waste from Saskatchewan landfills.

“Without program targets, the Ministry of Environment does not know whether its waste diversion recycling programs help achieve the provincial waste reduction goal—to reduce the amount of waste generated per person from the 2014 baseline by 30 percent by 2030, and by 50 percent by 2040,” Ferguson.

The audit found the Ministry receives information from regulated recycling programs but does not use the information.

“For example, it does not consider trends in key information such as program costs, and rates of waste collected or diverted.”

MITIGATING PESTS IN CROPS AND PASTURES

The report highlights ways the province and the Ministry of Agriculture can regulate pests in crops and pastures, to reduce lost revenues.

As of July 2020, the Ministry declared six regulated pests that it is responsible for mitigating the impacts of.

Ferguson said the Ministry needs to continue to work on four areas to improve its pest control processes.

The report suggests the ministry needs to improve upon its guidance for producers when it comes to detecting and reporting late blight and bacterial ring rot, develop response plans for grass hoppers, late blight, bacterial ring rot and brown or Norway rat.

“Early detection and timely, appropriate response plans are key to controlling regulated pests and reducing their impact on crops and pastures even when the pest has not been detected in the province for several years,” the report reads.

Other suggestions include improving efficiency of communication of lab results confirming club root, revisiting surveillance strategies for gophers and ensuring periodic reporting to senior management about pest mitigation.

PROVINCIAL CAPITAL COMMISION DEVELOPMENTS

Ferguson made recommendations for the Provincial Capital Commission’s process for approving major developments, in her late 2019 report.

The commission implemented two of five recommendations.

“It published a clear checklist outlining its process to review and approve proposed developments in Wascana Centre. It began providing the public with periodic status updates on all major development projects within Wascana Centre,” the report said.

However, the Provincial Auditor’s three other recommendations still stand. She said more work is needed to develop written expectations for the role of public consultations in relation to major developments.

Ferguson also notes the commission needs to clearly document how major developments conform to the Master Plan and establish agreements with owners of major developments in Regina’s Wascana Centre to ensure the building use fits into the commission’s Master Plan.

The Provincial’s Auditor’s full report can be found here.