The last quarterly report on public money losses filed with the province showed an instance of a half-million dollar loss with the Ministry of Highways. The Report of Public Losses for Ministries and Treasury Board Crowns stated the loss was attributed to banking information that was fraudulently changed by someone impersonating a supplier. Consequently, three payments to the supplier were redirected to an inappropriate bank account, as stated in the report. 

980 CJME’s Lisa Schick contacted the Highways Deputy Minister Blair Wagar who said the breach happened outside the government’s systems and that the Ministry has taken steps to ensure the government side of operations is secure. In that statement, the deputy minister claimed he was optimistic that the funds would be recovered, and that the focus was on ensuring that no such future incidents are possible. 

According to the 980 CJME report, Wagar said the fraud was committed by someone having access to detailed information or with access to the vendor’s system. 

The original report noted that authorities continue to investigate. The total loss reported was $509,380.