Auditor General Sheila Fraser warned during her final official press conference that Ottawa must do a better job of addressing both climate change and the plight of aboriginal communities in the coming years.
After 10 years as Ottawa's most high profile watchdog, Fraser's tenure as auditor general comes to an end later this month. But while her term is nearly finished, she took the opportunity again Wednesday to speak bluntly about major issues facing the federal government.
Not mincing words, Fraser spoke about the need to rein in the federal deficit so as to not pass the burden on to younger generations of Canadians.
During her luncheon farewell talk in Ottawa, she also spoke about Canada's aging population and the corresponding crunch on social services like health care.
Over the past decade, Fraser has presided over dozens of important reports, including the sponsorship scandal that ended a string of Liberal governments.
Famously, Fraser remarked that civil servants "broke every rule in the book" during the scandal.
Reflecting on her style while in the auditor's office, Fraser said that the aforementioned blunt approach to official reports was first introduced during the landmark report.
"I think that caught people by surprise, perhaps," she told CTV's Power Play during a late afternoon interview in Ottawa.
"I actually couldn't believe that some of these things were happening," she added.
While the sponsorship scandal raised the profile of both Fraser and her office, she said that no government in Ottawa ever attempted to interfere with her work, despite potentially damning probes.
"I have never had any kind of political interference," she said. "The government has always respected the role we play."
Still, in years past, gaining access to reports wasn't as easy.
Fraser said that near the start of her tenure, there was very little information about the gun registry and its actual cost in real dollar terms. In fact, the only way to get information about the cost was through Access to Information requests.
While Fraser has warned of spending shortages and an upcoming crunch, she said that a stable majority government could be a good thing, as policy makers will have the mandate to make "difficult" policy choices.
"I'm hopeful that with a majority government now, there will be more stability."
Fraser is now taking six months off to travel, and declined to speculate on where she would end up after her break.
