OTTAWA (CP) - The RCMP lost track of millions of dollars' worth of items purchased for the G-8 summit in Alberta, a newly released report reveals.
An internal review team found the Mounties were left scratching their heads about what they actually bought for the June 2002 event, how much they had, and in some cases where it was.
"We have identified several weaknesses with respect to the management and tracking of the inventory during the G-8 summit in Kananaskis," the audit report says.
A copy of the report, completed last September, was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The gathering of leaders from G-8 countries at a resort in Kananaskis, Alta., took place just nine months after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The RCMP spent months preparing for the event to ensure the security of participants.
The Mounties purchased an array of items, ranging from flashlights and protective helmets to computer equipment and police radios.
The review team conducted interviews, examined documents and did spot checks in two RCMP warehouses at the Springbank Airport just west of Calgary.
Under federal policy, items worth more than $1,000 are supposed to be listed according to price, quantity, supplier, date of purchase and other identifying information.
In this case, however, a list was compiled only after the summit. "Inventory items were not properly tracked from the moment they were procured to the moment that they were stored in inventory," the report says.
The lack of complete information made it difficult for the auditors to match up goods with purchase documents. In addition, some items were bought using credit cards and other means that "bypassed the G-8 procurement process," making tracking even more of a challenge.
"Certain items selected from the inventory list could not be physically located in the warehouses," the report states.
Some goods located were not on the list, or appeared twice. In other cases, items were described inaccurately or turned up in quantities at odds with the listing.
In addition, a few items on the inventory list, such as old computer monitors, had obviously not been bought for the G-8 or previous major events.
The auditors made several recommendations to correct the flaws, including creation of a detailed inventory of G-8 assets, an effort to match purchase records with the items and preparation of a comprehensive guide for future events.
As of last September, the bulk of the acquisitions for the G-8 and other recent conferences were being transferred from the Alberta warehouses to a central facility in Ottawa.
But some items had already been distributed across the RCMP for personnel to use.
Staff Sgt. Paul Marsh confirmed the items had been catalogued and moved to a single warehouse. "The RCMP is on target to accomplish all of the recommended steps included in the action plan," he said.
The report says "time constraints" involved in getting ready for the G-8 summit led to some of the problems. "Nevertheless appropriate internal controls are essential in any project to achieve the desired objectives."
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