Systems are "decades old and at risk of failure"
Aging computer systems responsible for distributing billions of dollars in benefits, including Old Age Security (OAS), Employment Insurance (EI), and Canada Pension Plan (CPP), are at risk of failure, according to Auditor-General Karen Hogan. In two reports released last week, Hogan highlighted delays and budget overruns in plans to modernize these systems.
One report found that the Canadian government has neglected its aging IT networks as a critical concern for over 24 years, lacking a clear plan to address the issue. The second report focused on the Benefits Delivery Modernization program, aimed at modernizing the distribution systems for OAS, EI, and CPP benefits, the largest project of its kind undertaken by the government.
Initially estimated at $1.75 billion in 2017, the project's costs have now escalated to between $2.7 billion and $3.4 billion. The originally scheduled 2023 deadline for OAS modernization has been pushed to 2025.
“This audit is important because more than ten million Canadians rely on these benefits to meet their day-to-day needs, but the information technology systems that deliver them are decades old and at risk of failure,” the report said.
The audit also found that the government had not developed tools to prevent inaccurate benefit payments, similar to issues faced by the Phoenix pay system for federal public servants launched in 2016. Hogan expressed concerns that without addressing challenges and delays “decisions could be made to remove aspects of transformation or take shortcuts to maintain the timelines or budget.”
“This would put the Benefits Delivery Modernization program at risk of resulting in a final product that fails to meet the needs of diverse and vulnerable client groups, including seniors, people in remote locations, Indigenous people, and refugees,” Hogan said.
The report on IT modernization highlighted that these issues were flagged by the Auditor-General in a 2010 report, with promised changes not followed through. Aging computers, some dating back to the 1960s, are at risk of failure. The number of experts to manage these outdated systems is dwindling, and vendors no longer support some of the computers.
“Every day that these systems are not modernized increases the risk that they fail, and that Canadians may lose access to essential services,” Hogan added.
The report singled out a lack of leadership and oversight in the highest levels of the public service and called for better prioritization of critical infrastructure. “We found that 24 years after the government first identified aging information technology as a significant issue, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat did not have a strategy or detailed plan for moving forward with a consistent and common approach to modernizing old information technology systems,” the report said.
