It’s the time of year when the Ontario government winces at the words of the auditor general.

In her latest annual report, Bonnie Lysyk bemoans ”excessive” wait times for hospital beds and the $8-billion spent over 14 years to implement eHealth, which still isn’t complete.

(Michael Peake / Postmedia Network)

The auditor general is also critical of the province when it comes to road maintenance, pointing out it pays highway contractors about $8-million a year in bonuses for meeting a quality standard for asphalt, even in cases when it knows contractors tampered with samples just to get the bonuses.

Lysyk adds projects by Metrolinx, the agency responsible for transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, account for one in every seven dollars of provincial capital spending.

Yet she says the agency fails to hold contractors and design consultants accountable for inadequate or late work and foots the bill for millions in extra costs.