Calgary’s city auditor has released a damning report on cost overruns in the municipal recreation infrastructure program, finding that $38 million in overspending across seven facility upgrades was driven by poor contract management, inadequate risk assessment, and what the report calls "insufficient documentation of change-order approvals."
The audit, tabled at Monday’s Audit Committee meeting, examined capital projects completed between 2023 and 2025, including renovations to Village Square Leisure Centre, Southland Leisure Centre, and the Vecova Recreation Centre.
Key Findings
Among the most concerning findings: in three of seven projects, change orders totalling $14.2 million were approved by project managers without the required sign-off from senior administration. In two cases, contractors were paid for work that had not been independently verified as complete.
"The controls that are supposed to protect taxpayer dollars simply were not followed," City Auditor Kathleen Falk told councillors. "This isn’t about honest mistakes — it’s about a systemic failure of oversight."
Council Response
Several councillors expressed frustration, with Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra calling the findings "unacceptable." "We owe Calgarians a clear explanation of how this happened and what we’re doing to make sure it never happens again," he said.
City Manager David Duckworth acknowledged the shortcomings and committed to implementing all 14 of the auditor’s recommendations, including mandatory senior-level approval for change orders exceeding $500,000 and quarterly reporting to council on capital project budgets.
The report does not allege fraud, but the auditor noted that the absence of documentation makes it impossible to rule out. She has referred the matter to the city’s ethics office for further review.
