Alleged theft of government COVID-19 relief funds sparks calls for more oversight

The alleged theft of tens of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds is triggering calls for improved oversight of pandemic spending.

As disclosed by , as many as 400 e-transfer payments of $200 and $250 were funneled to fake accounts or addresses earlier this year.

A Ministry of Education employee was fired and the Ontario Provincial Police anti-rackets squad has been called in to probe the scheme, which may have netted as much as $100,000.

The province has also retained KPMG to conduct an investigation to determine how much was stolen from the $380-million Support for Families program.

That pandemic measure was introduced by Finance Minister Rod Phillips last spring to help families “offset the cost of buying materials to support their children’s learning while they practiced self-isolation and physical distancing.”

There were payments of $200 for all children up to age 12 and $250 for children or youth with special needs up to age 21. The money was to help parents buy work books, educational apps, and other learning tools.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Monday the alleged theft was “really disappointing.”

“The money was meant for families and children. You have to be able to get money into the hands of people who need it as quickly as possible,” said Horwath.

“People are suffering, families are suffering, kids are suffering, households are suffering,” she said.

“It’s really unfortunate you have folks who take advantage of this situation for their own private financial benefit … it’s really sad and it’s pretty disgraceful.”

But Horwath said the government, which unveiled a record $187 billion budget earlier this month, must keep on top of where money is flowing.

“At the same time you do want to have some sense of accountability,” she said.

Liberal house Leader John Fraser said “it’s something the auditor general should be looking at.”

“When you’re implementing a program so quickly, your risk goes up considerably. So the government needs to have those measures in place,” said Fraser.

“Obviously, this was caught. Fraud does happen,” he said.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said with unprecedented spending comes the need for increased oversight.

“Whenever government is responding this quickly, there’s always a concern around fraud. Clearly, we need to have the mechanisms in place,” said Schreiner.

“It’s good that this person allegedly has been caught and action has been taken,” he said.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt has said police “will not comment further to protect the integrity of the investigation.”

“As this is a criminal investigation, we will not speculate as to the likelihood of charges,” said Schmidt.

Attorney General Doug Downey’s office has emphasized that “any abuse of taxpayers dollars is totally unacceptable.”

Phillips, who renewed the popular program in , told the on Friday that “we’re spending historic amounts of money and we need to be very vigilant that dollars are getting to people.”

While the finance minister could not speak to this specific case because it’s before the courts, he noted “it always disappointing when people take advantage of a situation that is meant to help people in a very difficult time.”

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: