The latest report from auditor general Michael Ferguson highlights problems with a number of federal departments dealing with safety and security, including railway oversight and large-scale food recalls.

“In a number of these areas, the results need to be better,” Ferguson told CTV’s Power Play Tuesday. “A number of the issues that we raised have been long-standing issues.”

You can read the full report

The government has issued a response to the audit, and you can read that . 

Here are the highlights of Ferguson’s audit:

A massive recall of beef products from Alberta-based XL Foods in September 2012 exposed serious problems with how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency handles such situations, according to the audit.  

Ferguson said his office audited the recall process, not food inspections themselves, and found that the CFIA wasn’t always documenting what happened to recalled products once they were pulled from shelves.

“That concerned us, because that documentation is important,” he told Power Play.

The audit also found that the CFIA struggles to follow up on routine recalls.

“We felt that there was confusion with the agency, who was making decisions and also some confusion between the agency and the companies involved in those recalls,” Ferguson said.

Beef recall

A rail-safety audit completed before the deadly train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Que., last summer found “significant weaknesses” in Transport Canada’s oversight of federal railways.

Ferguson told a news conference Tuesday that there is a lack of knowledge of rail routes used to transport dangerous goods, a lack of safety auditors and problems with poorly trained inspectors.

Lac-Megantic derailment

The auditor general’s report found gaps in security at Canada’s entry points, which have allowed some dangerous people to slip into the country.

“We know in one sample of 49 that two people were successful getting into the country, people with serious criminal backgrounds,” Ferguson said.

“In the sample, the numbers don’t sound large, but these samples were over a short period of time and if you extrapolate that over a longer period of time and the number of people trying to get into the country, the results are concerning.”

Ferguson said the Canadian Border Services Agency doesn’t always receive all information from airlines and other sources necessary to flag potential threats. But he also said that the agency “just needs to make sure it’s following its own practices a little more diligently.”

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer looks toward a car coming toward him at the border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, in Blaine, Wash. on Saturday, May 30, 2009. (AP / Elaine Thompson)

Ferguson told Power Play that the national shipbuilding strategy “shows promise,” but it’s too early to tell how it will play out.

The audit found that the procurement process was efficient and transparent, but raised concerns with the $26 billion budget cap set for procuring 15 ships.

Ferguson said that cap may not be sufficient.

With files from The Canadian Press