TORONTO -- Ontario's auditor general says the Liberal government has given teachers' unions more than $80 million since 2000, about a quarter of that with "no strings attached."

Bonnie Lysyk had been asked to investigate $3.8 million the government paid unions representing teachers and education workers over the past three rounds of bargaining.

Lysyk says in a report released today that those payments were unusual, but within the government's authority.

In total, she says, Liberals gave $80.5 million to teachers' unions and the Ontario Teachers' Federation since 2000.

Lysyk says $22 million of that was provided "with no requirement for the unions to tell the government what they did with the money" and the remainder was largely earmarked for teachers' professional development.

Education Minister Liz Sandals has defended the $3.8 million in payments as being necessary because the transition to a new bargaining system made talks quite lengthy.