New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development is facing questions about whether it has made any improvements to its pandemic planning now as several nursing homes go through new COVID-19 outbreaks.
Three former Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers are bringing a new level of inquisitorial zeal to the New Brunswick Legislature’s public accounts committee.
The New Brunswick COVID core, presented in the auditor general's pandemic review as being third in the "COVID-19 decision-making hierarchy," after cabinet and the cabinet committee on COVID-19, had no decision-making power, according to the government.
The New Brunswick government reacted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented measures aimed at saving lives, according to Auditor General Paul Martin, but he found problems with the government's level of preparedness, decision-making process, record keeping and communications.
New Brunswick's auditor general has found that lessons from the 2009 H1N1 influenza crisis were not incorporated into New Brunswick's COVID-19 pandemic plan.