Auditor General reports lack of progress on implementation of Weaving Our Voices Together plan

Auditor General reports lack of progress on implementation of Weaving Our Voices Together plan

FREDERICTON (GNB)- Auditor General Paul Martin released a report today on the Department of Women’s Equality’s implementation of Weaving Our Voices Together, New Brunswick’s plan in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Martin’s office received conflicting information related to the number of completed actions and concluded that no more than 10 percent of the plan’s 39 actions were reported as completed at the time of the audit.

Martin underscored a significant concern regarding the implementation of the Weaving Our Voices Together plan, specifically highlighting the absence of sufficient governance and oversight mechanisms.

During the audit, Martin discovered that the committees originally established to guide the plan’s implementation have not convened since its launch in 2023, and Women’s Equality was not adequately monitoring the status of plan initiatives.

Martin had a strong message for government and said, “It is time for New Brunswick to move beyond commitments and demonstrate tangible progress that honours the intent of the plan and the lives it seeks to protect.”

The Auditor General made 11 recommendations to the Department of Women’s Equality, all of which were accepted by the department.