OTTAWA - Key findings from the spring report of the federal auditor general, released Tuesday:

-- Veterans Affairs Canada lacks adequate limits on the soaring cost and usage levels of marijuana among ex-soldiers who are using it for medical purposes, authorizing in some 340 cases the consumption of 10 grams a day -- twice Health Canada's recommended threshold.

-- The number of veterans receiving medical marijuana jumped from 112 in 2013-14 to 1,320 in 2015, and the cost rose accordingly: from $408,810 to $12.1 million. The audit estimates the cost could reach $25 million in 2016-17, nearly one third of the drug costs of the Veterans Affairs health benefits program.

-- Veterans Affairs also lacks a "well-defined approach" for monitoring drug use among veterans, and does not monitor trends that could indicate "high-risk" behaviour. For instance, while it will not cover the cost of acetaminophen that exceeds the maximum recommended dose, no such limits exist for narcotics or sedatives.

-- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada lacks a systematic method of identifying and documenting fraud risks among its applicants, resulting in people being granted citizenship based on incomplete information or background checks.

-- The RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency do not consistently share important details about criminal charges and potential residency fraud with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

-- Between 2008 and 2015, 50 different applicants used the same single address on their citizenship applications during overlapping time periods; seven of the applicants became Canadian citizens before the address was flagged during a residency fraud investigation.

-- Citizenship officers did not always follow the standard procedure of checking travel documents against the department's database of lost, stolen and fraudulent documents.

-- Out of 38 criminal cases since 2010 involving a permanent resident or foreign national, the RCMP shared the relevant details with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in only two of them.

-- Individual units of the Canadian Army's reserve units lack sufficient soldiers -- just 14,000 instead of a needed 21,000 -- as well as access to key equipment for domestic missions and clear guidance on training, counter to National Defence's stated goal.

-- Between the 2012--13 and 2014--15 fiscal years, the number of Canadian Army reservists has dwindled by about five per cent, or about 1,000 soldiers per year.

-- The process of choosing fund managers for the government's $400-million "Venture Capital Action Plan," established in the 2012 budget, was onerous, laden with red tape and insufficiently fair, open and transparent, resulting in just nine submissions out of a possible 100 would-be candidates.

-- The Immigration and Refugee Board has long-standing vacancies that are contributing to decision-making delays: 21 positions are vacant, leading to wait times of an average of 18 months.

-- Via Rail lacks a long-term plan or direction approved by the federal government, receiving federal approval only for short-term funding and its five-year plan -- a "significant deficiency" that makes it impossible for Via to "fulfill its mandate as economically, efficiently and effectively as desired."