Ottawa, 22 April 2024—Canada Lands Company Limited has released the report of a special examination conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, which focused on corporate management practices and the management of operations. The report concluded that Canada Lands Company Limited had good corporate management practices and overall managed its activities well. However, the report also highlighted needed improvements in some areas.
Canada Lands Company Limited is a self-funded federal Crown corporation that specializes in real estate and development and manages some of the country’s most iconic attractions, including the CN Tower and Downsview Park in Toronto and the Old Port of Montréal.
The audit found that the corporation managed its activities well, but flagged a weakness in how the corporation prepared the business plans for its attractions. Specifically, the business plans were missing important information, such as strategies to address corporate-level risks. This made it difficult for management to ensure that each plan was aligned with the overarching corporate strategy.
The audit also found improvements were needed in other areas, including board oversight and asset optimization. For example, the corporation did not consistently implement its asset management framework, which would have helped it to achieve optimal value from its properties over their life cycles.
A special examination is an audit of a federal Crown corporation conducted by the Auditor General of Canada. Under the Financial Administration Act, most federal Crown corporations are subject to a special examination by the Auditor General at least once every 10 years. These audits examine the systems and practices of a Crown corporation that are key to providing it with reasonable assurance that its assets are safeguarded and controlled, its resources are managed economically and efficiently, and its operations are carried out effectively. Special examination reports are therefore a source of important information that parliamentarians can use to hold Crown corporations to account.