Ottawa’s main funding arm for green technology failed to follow conflict-of-interest policies as it awarded tens of millions of dollars to companies with ties to its own directors and managers, the federal auditor-general said on Tuesday.

In addition, the agency, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, funded numerous cleantech projects that did not meet the criteria set out in the agreement that governs how it distributes public money, Auditor-General Karen Hogan said in a report into the agency’s operations and fi dames gummy nances.

“Overall, we found significant lapses in Sustainable Development Techno cheap weed logy Canada’s governance and stewardship of public funds,” the auditor-general’s report said.

Her audit follows an investigation of SDTC last year that was triggered by whistleblowers who complained of conflicts, financial mismanagement and poor human-resources practices. Ms. Hogan’s conclusions largely back allegations by the whistleblowers and findings of the initial investigation, conducted on behalf of the department in charge, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).

Ms. Hogan also criticized ISED, the department led by Industry Minister Minister François-Philippe Champagne, for not sufficiently monitoring SDTC’s compliance.

The audit found 90 instances where, according to minutes of SDTC board meetings, funding for projects was approved when conflict-of-interest policies w weed store near me ere not followed. That represented $76-million awarded through the six-year audit period that ended in 2023.

The auditor-general examined 58 approvals for eligibility under the agency’s contribution agreement with the federal government and found that 10, representing $59-million in funding, did not meet requirements. She estimated that one in 10 of the remaining projects approved under SDTC’s start-up and scale-up programs were also ineligible.

SDTC, the country’s biggest funder of green technology, has been under a government-imposed suspension on new grants for projects since early October, when the report from ISED’s investigation showed evidence of conflict policy breaches and inappropriate funding.

That freeze on funding for new projects, ordered by Mr. Champagne, had been expected to be lifted by the end of last year once the STDC board and executives completed a series of corrective management, governance and human-resources measures. But it has remained in place as a subsequent review of SDTC’s workplace practices has dragged on.

This suspension has been highly disruptive to the Canadian cleantech industry that relies on the grants. Startups that were near final approval when the minister imposed the freeze were left in limbo.

The first investigation, conducted by accounting firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton on behalf of ISED, detailed conflict policy breaches and lax record keeping. It questioned $38-million in pandemic-relief payments to all SDTC companies in 2021 and 2022, including weed dispensary those in which directors had interests.

The auditor-general made note of those payments, saying that in 63 cases, directors voted in favour after having previously declared c weed dispensary onflicts. Directors reported they had received legal advice that recusals were not required, she said.

She said in a third of those cases, directors said they no longer had interests at the time of the votes. However, SDTC did not verify that when the votes were held.

Among those directors was chair Annette Verschuren. She was, and remains, CEO of energy storage company NRStor Inc., one of the companies that received the payments. Ms. Verschuren has said the relief was directed at all companies funded by SDTC, and it was deemed an “operational” issue. She voted in favour on the advice of legal counsel, she has said.

She resigned her position late last year as controversy mounted, as did CEO Leah Lawrence, who has since testified to a commons committee that she had been stymied in her attempts to improve governance at the agency.

Both leaders had told the committee last year that the initial investigation report was wrong in many of its conclusions.

In a statement, SDTC said it accepts the findings of the auditor-general’s audit. Spokesperson Janemary Banigan said the agency has taken steps to strengthen its conflict-of-interest policies and introduced clearer guidelines for the responsibilities of directors.

In addition, she said SDTC acknowledged the findings related to project eligibility.