Troubled grant program

Photo: Contributed

An audit of a British Columbia program that distributes millions of dollars in gaming grants to non-profit groups has found the government needs to ensure the money is used as intended.

Auditor general Carol Bellringer's report says the program has handed out nearly $135 million of gaming revenue in each of the last five years to about 5,000 organizations.

She says that while the government's overall management of the program is suitable, improvements are needed because a lot of money is distributed — over $1 billion in the last decade.

Bellringer says the audit revealed cases where grants were awarded to organizations that hadn't reported on how funds from the previous year were used.

She says the government hasn't reviewed the program since 2011 to consider whether there is a better way to get the money to groups that benefit communities.

Bellringer made nine recommendations, including the establishment of a process to ensure grant decisions on files that have been appealed are fair, consistent and well documented according to eligibility requirements.