BATTLE BREWS BETWEEN CRA AND AUDITOR GENERAL

   OTTAWA — “Partially agreed.”
   With two milquetoast words contained in the response to Auditor General Karen Hogan’s report on COVID-19 benefits published Tuesday, the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada sent a shock wave across the federal government.
   The organizations broke with the longstanding tradition of agreeing with all the auditor general’s recommendations, saying they only “partially agreed” with her suggestion they strengthen and broaden their COVID-19 program verifications and include “all cases identified as being at risk of being ineligible.”
   National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier took the disagreement between CRA and Hogan to another level Tuesday when she declared that the AG’s assessment of Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) payments needing investigation was “exaggerated.”