Here's the problem for most Canadians, if they're watching.
Connect to innovate had $500 million available for allocation to successful applicants. The program received 892 applications, with funding requests for $4.4 billion. In some cases, there were multiple projects covering overlapping areas.
Here's the problem: “We found that the Department used a three-step process to evaluate applications. First, it screened the applications and assessed their merit.” That was the initial screening. “Second, officials from the Department and the Minister's office assessed funding options, each including a different mix for eligible projects.” Finally, in the third step, “the Minister provided conditional support approval on selected projects.” All of these areas—not so much area number one, but the other two areas—can be politicized and could be problematic. I'm not stating that it was a roadblock in any way, but certainly it can be viewed as one.
In paragraph 1.57, the Auditor General's office “found that there were a number of considerations to select projects”. The applications came in and “there were a number of considerations to select projects, but the application guide did not specify the relative weight of each criterion used in the project selection process.” The people applying didn't really understand the weight to each part of it. “Projects were less likely to be funded if they did not align with provincial and territorial priorities. However, these priorities were not made public. In our view, the Department should have made the weights and priorities public.”
Does the department agree with that?