Board overseeing new Canada-U.S. bridge project has 'significant deficiency' in oversight, audit finds

The board tasked with ultimately overseeing construction of the $5.7-billion Gordie Howe International Bridge hasn't always been able to provide proper oversight because of a "significant deficiency" in the information it was being given, according to a new audit.

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada releaseda 32-page report Friday examining the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), which is in charge of thethe largest infrastructure project along the Canada-U.S. border, for most of 2021.The WDBA isa Crown Corporation that reports to Parliament through the federal government.

The audit made eightrecommendations, some of which aimed to fix "gaps in the information received by the board on performance reporting, risk management, and appointments," according to the report.

There's also concern the WDBA didn't clearly define its targets and performance indicators.

"There were no specific performance indicators for the strategic objective of working towards successful implementation of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project," the audit found.

The bridge, connecting Windsor, Ont. to Delray, Mich., is set to be operational by the end of 2024. However,an analyst report by S&P Global suggests that could be delayed until April 2025 because of supply chain issues and labour shortages. Construction started inOctober 2018,more than 20 years after the idea was first proposed.

'Significant turnover' on executive team

Four board members were also found to still be active despite their terms expiring, which was identified as a weakness. By mid-2022, there were up to six people with expiring terms.Those people are allowed to continue until a replacement is found, but the audit cautions significant turnover can "reduce the effectiveness of the board's ability to exercise effectiveoversight."

"We are working on our action plan to address any of the concerns identified,"WDBA spokespersonTaraCarson tells CBC News.

The report concluded that aside from the "significant deficiency" in reporting to the board and oversight, the WDBA"maintained its systems and practices" in all other areas.

Since March 2021, the report also identified "significant turnover" in the bridge authority's executive team. More top officials departed in 2022.

"Itcould also reduce the cohesiveness of the executive team, compromising its ability to champion the corporation's transition to the operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation phase of its mandate," according to the report.

Once the bridge is finished, the WDBA will still exist to help oversee the operations and maintenance of the853-metre cable-stay bridge.

Three areas were also identified where the WDBA could improve the way it assesses, monitors and reports risk related to the massive infrastructure project.

This type of audit is conducted every 10 years as the WDBA was established in 2012.