New Brunswick auditor general prepares to step down

New Brunswick's Auditor General is retiring. Paul Martin's mandate is scheduled to last for another five years but he's leaving at the end of this year. Martin took the role of Auditor General in January of 2022. Since then he's kept tabs on government spending by issuing frequent reports about the use and abuse of public funds. But at 67 years old he says it's time to retire. Hope I serve the people of New Brunswick well in that but I could I did not want to be there for 10 years. I feel staying for till age 72 is a bit long and perhaps it's time to pass that torch to the next generation. When asked what report he was most proud of bringing to light he lists the large amount that the province was spending on travel nurses. I believe the people in charge were doing what they felt was best and needed to make sure hospital services remained operational during COVID and I understand that, but there were some fatal issues with the contracts that were signed that cost New Brunswickers an enormous amount of money. The president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union continues to commend Martin's work on that file. We saw that you know during and post-COVID that taxpayer dollars were misused actually Thank and so I think his report really blew that open. you so It took him a while to get his feet under him as as the watchdog much for on government after having worked for government. And then all the changes that he made early on in the office in terms of staffing. joining But he did really grow into the role. And his audits in the last number of years have been very good, us today. important, helpful in terms of digging into how departments and crown corporations have been operating on various issues. Martin says he has one more report to file in early December before he's finished.