'A fundamental change is needed'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 10, 2011 at 1:14 PM - 10 Comments

Heather Scoffield considers the Auditor General’s findings on Aboriginal welfare.

Education, adequate housing, clean drinking water and child welfare are all in an “unacceptable” state, despite a large stack of government recommendations, initiatives and money over the years, a 10-year examination of First Nations policy concludes.

“I am profoundly disappointed to note … that despite federal action in response to our recommendations over the years, a disproportionate number of First Nations people still lack the most basic services that other Canadians take for granted,” Fraser wrote. ”After 10 years in this job, it has become clear to me that if First Nations communities on reserves are going to see meaningful progress in their well-being, a fundamental change is needed.”

Sheila Fraser's straight talk express

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 9:07 AM - 7 Comments

The Auditor General bids adieu.

“We all know Canada’s population is getting older, but we are still grappling with its implications — fewer people in the labour force, less economic growth and less tax revenue,” Fraser said in a speech. “At the same time, we can expect people will need more health-care services and will be drawing on public pensions. Obviously, balancing these fiscal pressures will be a major challenge.”

At a later news conference, she expanded on why Canadians need to know more about potentially significant costs looming down the road. ”There may be some very hard choices that have to be made. And unless Canadians can understand the pressures that are coming and that government has to deal with, I think it will be very difficult for them to accept, perhaps, decisions that the government will have to make.”

More here, here and here. Ms. Fraser has also released a final report looking back on her decade in office.

Auditing the future

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, May 16, 2011 at 4:51 PM - 47 Comments

Sheila Fraser is concerned.

“The public must be aware of the challenges ahead,” Ms. Fraser says in an interview with The Globe and Mail and L’Actualité. “Canada is a country where people, as a whole, are relatively prudent on financial matters. Let’s not forget the 1990s when the government reduced spending, increased taxes and was re-elected with a larger majority. There aren’t many other countries where that happened.”

Pointing to billions in upcoming spending on bridges, the Parliament Hill precinct and computer systems, Ms. Fraser laments the fact Canada doesn’t publish long-term projections like the United States, which looks 75 years down the road. She adds that in her view, Canadians don’t want to hand down a huge debt to future generations. “There is the deficit, issues linked to the aging population and questions of climate change. How will we deal with these, in addition to all of the other spending demands on the government?”

Tony Clement makes no apologies for G8 spending

By Kate Lunau - Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 16 Comments

Adrian Wyld/CP

At an all-candidates’ debate on Monday night in Burk’s Falls, a village of 1,000 in the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka, Conservative MP Tony Clement stood at a small wooden podium, emphasizing the need for a “strong, stable majority government.” His promise to abolish the long-gun registry was, in this community of hunters, met with big cheers. Clement and three other candidates fielded questions on everything from CBC funding to industrial espionage, but things really heated up midway through the evening when local Liberal campaign manager Dan Waters stepped up to the microphone and asked Clement about news that was making headlines everywhere, it seems, but in Burk’s Falls.

Earlier that day, the Canadian Press had cited a draft report from Auditor General Sheila Fraser suggesting the Conservatives “misinformed” Parliament to win approval for $50 million invested in the riding for last June’s G8 summit, held at the Deerhurst Resort in nearby Huntsville. It suggested the process by which funding was approved may have been illegal. The story set off a firestorm, though by day’s end, a later, less damning draft was making the rounds—one that omitted suggestions of illegality or of misinforming Parliament, though it was still critical of the government.

At the candidates’ debate, Clement urged the crowd not to “jump the gun,” and to wait for Fraser’s final report. He then took a harder tack. “They’re suggesting that you or I have something to be ashamed of because we got infrastructure funding. Billions of dollars were spent across this country on roads, bridges, waterworks, you name it,” he said to loud applause. “We got our fair share, and I will never be ashamed of that.”

Continue…

How many people does it take to release a report?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 4:12 PM - 23 Comments

The Speaker seemed yesterday to say it was up to the four party leaders and the Auditor General to discuss the release of a report into G8-related spending. On that note, Jack Layton wrote last night to the other party leaders and the Auditor General to request a meeting.

The official Liberal response today—with an additional comment on a vote at committee by the NDP’s David Christopherson—is as follows. Continue…

'Take a moment to work together and get results for Canadians'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 6:37 PM - 7 Comments

Jack Layton has penned a letter to the other party leaders and Auditor General Sheila Fraser seeking a Thursday meeting to discuss the release of the AG’s final report on G8 funding.

The Hill Times article to which he refers is here.

"This was a bit of a token of saying, 'Thank you.'"

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 10:11 AM - 12 Comments

The Globe surveys the G8′s “legacy” in Muskoka.

The University of Waterloo’s environmental research centre, completed 11 months ago, remains deserted and without signage. The echoing hallways of a summit centre are largely bare save for pieces of community art, while a brand-new seniors centre, banquet hall and drop-in daycare were empty on Monday afternoon.

'Clearly erroneous'

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, April 11, 2011 at 4:33 PM - 62 Comments

Greg Weston obtains a letter sent by the Auditor General to the government operations and estimates committee in regards to a supplemtary report issued by the Conservative members of that committee.

The Conservatives’ report, presented as a dissenting opinion to the Commons the morning Parliament was dissolved last month, quotes Fraser giving high marks to the Harper government for prudent spending on the summits. The report quoted the auditor general as saying: “We found that the processes and controls around that were very good, and that the monies were spent as they were intended to be spent.”

But in her letter addressed to members of a Commons committee on Friday, which was received by the clerk and members on Monday, Fraser said the quote had nothing to do with the summits. Instead, the Conservatives falsely recycled an old comment she made on security spending by a previous Liberal government after the 9/11 terrorist attacks a decade ago.

The G8 legacy fund

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, April 11, 2011 at 11:54 AM - 95 Comments

The Canadian Press gets a look at a chapter in the draft report of the Auditor General’s investigation into G8 funding.

The draft reveals that a local “G8 summit liaison and implementation team” — Industry Minister Tony Clement, the mayor of Huntsville, and the general manager of Deerhurst Resort which hosted the summit — chose the 32 projects that received funding. It says there was no apparent regard for the needs of the summit or the conditions laid down by the government…

The draft report says that in November 2009, the government tabled supplementary spending estimates which requested $83 million for a Border Infrastructure Fund aimed at reducing congestion at border crossings. But the government did not reveal that it intended to devote $50 million of that money to a G8 legacy fund, even though Huntsville is nowhere near the Canada-U.S. border.

When Michael Ignatieff demanded last week that the final report be dismissed, the Conservatives dismissed his request. The Conservative side now says the Auditor General and the Speaker should release the report, but that wouldn’t seem to be possible—the AG’s office having said that its reports cannot be tabled unless Parliament is sitting.

The Star has posted the full list of projects funded by the G8 legacy fund.

The Commons: Leave it to MacKay

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 6:45 PM - 0 Comments

The Scene. Demonstrating fine posture, Siobhan Coady stood straight, if not tall, along the back row of the opposition side and, in a tone of disbelief, reported the day’s findings of the auditor general.

“Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General has revealed that the Conservatives caused an avalanche of problems, delays and cost overruns in acquiring 15 Chinook helicopters,” she lamented. “They essentially sole-sourced the deal without telling Public Works why. They identified the operational requirements only after announcing the procurement. They provided a cost estimate to the Treasury Board that they know was too low. As a result the Auditor General is warning of a billion dollar operating budget crunch at DND. The Conservatives broke every rule in the book.”

Ms. Coady then concluded with the most damning of open-ended questions—”Why?” Continue…

The Auditor General's report and Canada's curious F-35 deal

By John Geddes - Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at 6:44 PM - 0 Comments

Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s coruscating report on the slippery way the Department of National Defence handled its recent multi-billion-dollar helicopter purchases is setting off alarm bells about how DND might be managing its even more costly jet fighter buy.

Fraser’s findings from her audit of the $11-billion helicopter deals couldn’t be more disturbing. She said DND officials held back crucial information about the likely escalation in the cost of 28 Cyclone and 15 Chinook choppers, which led to Treasury Board approving the purchases based on off-the-shelf cost estimates that were ridiculously optimistic.

And Fraser drew a rough parallel between the helicopter fiasco and the planned procurement, announced last June July, of 65 F-35 fighter jets for an estimated $9 billion, plus another perhaps $7 billion in maintenance costs. “I hope no one is assessing [the F-35 procurement] as low risk,” she said today.

Continue…

Rights and Democracy: Sheila Fraser acts to ensure financial transparency

By Paul Wells - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 3:58 PM - 24 Comments

A little bird told me that, while we all wait for the Deloitte audit of Rights and Democracy that the former board promised us in three weeks, four months ago, that someone else was poking around at the benighted organization: Auditor General Sheila Fraser. I called her office, and media relations manager Ghislain Desjardins confirmed it was so. His note to me, in its entirety:

We expect to submit our annual financial audit of Rights and Democracy financial statements by the end of June (22nd is the tentative date). Rights and Democracy publishes the financial audit in their Annual Report. Click here for 2008-2009 RD’s Annual Report (.pdf). Page 22 for Financial Statements. You should get in touch with Rights and Democracy to see if you can have access to their financial statements before they release them in their annual report. Continue…

Compromise Tuesday

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:12 PM - 9 Comments

Meanwhile, MPs have agreed to let Auditor General Sheila Fraser have a look at the books.

“The Board of Internal Economy has decided to invite my office to conduct a performance audit of the administration of the House of Commons,” Fraser said, adding the invitation was accepted. “Our objective is to determine whether the house has sound management processes and key administrative systems and practices.”

“Some specific expenses incurred by MPs will be included as part of the examination.” However, Fraser said the audit will not look at “the management of individual members’ offices nor the merits of individuals’ transactions.”

Below, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch dissents.

Capital Diary: Mitchel Raphael on the story behind Chrétien’s official portrait

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 8:20 AM - 0 Comments

‘I recognize that expression’
Speaker Peter Milliken hosted the hanging of Jean Chrétien’s official prime ministerial portrait. In his speech, Milliken referred to a 1967 CBC interview with  Chrétien, who was then still a young MP. “His sense of humour,” Milliken noted, “was already evident. Speaking to a crowd of supporters one day, he said, ‘My initials are J.C., like Jesus Christ . . . my mother’s name is Mary. I live on Boulevard Pius XII. At 30 I was at the beginning of my public life. I hope I will not be crucified at 33.’ ” Milliken went on to note that Chrétien was the 18th of 19 children and “being the baby of the family, or close to it, it’s not easy to make your mark. I think we can agree he found his niche.” The portrait, painted by New Brunswick artist Christan Nicholson, took a year and a half to complete. There were five versions of it before the one with the “Chinese yellow” background was finally selected. The yellow version was championed by the former PM’s daughter, France Chrétien Desmarais. The Chrétien family was inspired by the painting Nicholson did of Robertson Davies holding his glasses, so Chrétien is shown with specs in hand. When former deputy PM John Manley looked at the portrait, he said, “I recognize that expression. That’s the look you got when you came into cabinet five minutes late.” VIPs attending the event included Ed Broadbent and current NDP Leader Jack Layton, who agreed it would be a good idea to have a bust of Broadbent made, like the one he has of NDP icon Tommy Douglas in his office. Chrétien’s portrait was installed at the beginning of the hall of prime ministerial portraits in Centre Block. With some rearranging, there is room for about 11 more portraits, though some may need to be a little smaller. When Chrétien entered the room, there were shouts of “four more years.” Stephen Harper’s spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, joked the chants were for his boss, who entered the room with Chrétien.

Dan Aykroyd and the troops
The Canadian Vintners Association was on the Hill to allow MPs to sample wine from across the country, including Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia. Bloc MP Christiane Gagnon said her favourite wine was the Pinot Gris from Nova Scotia. But was it better than the Quebec wines? “Oui!” Working one of the tables was Liam Doody, who sells the Dan Aykroyd series of wines. He says their best seller is the Cabernet Merlot. Aykroyd has to sample all the wines before they are shipped, which Doody says can delay products for up to five weeks—the busy star has to make it to the vineyards in southern Ontario. Aykroyd, a big supporter of Canadian troops, recently had 56 cases of his wine shipped to Afghanistan for the men and women serving there.

MP’s suitcase just got lighter
Minister of State for Sports Gary Lunn has been limping around with a cast after having surgery on his foot. The downside is that it’s been hard to escape the media in the foyer, like when CTV’s Bob Fife cornered him to ask about MPs’ expenses and the auditor general. “You can’t run,” quipped Fife. The plus side, Lunn says, is a lighter suitcase: “I only need three shoes.” Lunn now travels with one running shoe, one dress shoe and one casual shoe.

He’ll never be a Starbucks MP
Before the mood changed on MPs opening their books to auditor general Sheila Fraser, Toronto Liberal MP Rob Oliphant said in a press release that he was voluntarily going to let the AG see what she needed. Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hébert noted that the fear on the Hill was that the AG’s report would highlight who were the Starbucks MPs versus the Tim Hortons MPs. Oliphant declares himself strictly a Tim Hortons MP: he can’t actually drink Starbucks coffee, he says, because of “acid reflux.”

The Commons: What price freedom?

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 6:08 PM - 107 Comments

The Scene. “What’s this about?” Michael Ignatieff begged, verging on the profound.

The subject, for a second day, was the apparent cost of securing this summer’s meetings of world leaders in cottage country Ontario and downtown Toronto respectively. The sum is now said to be a few nickels short of a billion dollars. The Parliamentary Budget Officer is apparently thinking about checking the government’s math, and the Liberals and NDP have asked the auditor general to investigate.

In the meantime, and in the absence of such accountings, there are only laments—”It borders on indecency,” the NDP’s Olivia Chow cried this afternoon—and accusatory questions, most wondering if somehow government mismanagement might perchance explain the tab. Continue…

What would Sheila Fraser find if she were to audit federal politicians' expenses?

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 2:41 PM - 27 Comments

The new consensus

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, May 24, 2010 at 2:00 PM - 24 Comments

Last week, Michael Ignatieff said the auditor general and the Board of Internal Economy should discuss their differences over an audit of MP expenses. Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office said likewise. And just now, Jack Layton’s office sent out the following.

The issue of MPs expenses and the Auditor General has dominated much of the media attention of the past few days.

MPs expenses are currently indepedantly audited and are publicly available online, as per all rules and regulations currently in place.  New Democrats are fully confident that the process works, but we also understand that members of the media and of the public in general would like more information.

We believe that the Board of Internal Economy should consider further discussion on this issue. New Democrats are certainly never been opposed to having the BOIE continue the dialogue with the Auditor General to improve accountability and efficient use of public money.

'This is not the hill you want to die on, for God’s sake'

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 9:21 AM - 46 Comments

Jim Prentice says there’s no need to have the auditor general review MP expenses. Jack Layton’s spokesman says it doesn’t make sense to have the auditor general review expenses. Pat Martin says it is time to open the books. Rob Anders says it’s inevitable. Shawn Murphy says it’s time for MPs to talk it over with the AG and decide the parameters of an audit.

You're not helping, Mr. Szabo

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 3:51 PM - 16 Comments

While the auditor general remains delightfully passive aggressive, Liberal Paul Szabo explains that one reason the public can’t have a look at the books is because, well, then we’d know about all the lawsuits we’re paying to fight and settle.

“If they were opened to the auditor general and open to the public, all of a sudden people would jump to conclusions without having all the facts,” he said.

“If you identify the member, or the law firm or all this other stuff, all of a sudden people could say … what’s wrong with this member, this member is getting sued all the time,” he said.

Szabo said a large chunk of the board’s budget is used to pay for legal costs because MPs are “very susceptible” to lawsuits and “our reputations can be ruined if it would ever get out.”

The Sun bureau, meanwhile, has apparently set out (scroll down) to interrogate every MP they come across, with predictably awkward results.

'People just don't believe politicians anymore'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, May 14, 2010 at 10:10 AM - 8 Comments

Liberal backbencher Michelle Simson confirms her cult hero status with the seemingly desired reaction to yesterday’s decision to keep MP expenses beyond the purview of the auditor general.

“Personally, I’m disappointed,” said Liberal MP Michelle Simson, a rookie Scarborough MP who unilaterally decided to post her detailed parliamentary expenses online. “There seems to be a public appetite just to be assured by someone like Sheila Fraser … because people just don’t believe politicians anymore.”

'Seriously, it's not my money'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 11:18 AM - 13 Comments

For those keeping score at home, Jack Layton says he’s not in favour of turning over the House of Commons books to the auditor general. Michelle Simson makes the case for doing so.

She said that if MPs are afraid to let Fraser look at their books, they can’t blame people for being suspicious. ”Without that kind of scrutiny, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to successfully convince Canadians that what happened in Britain can’t happen here,” Simson said…

Simson said the benefits of performance reviews and value-for-money audits go far beyond catching embarrassing spending from MPs, as the budget for the House of Commons and Senate is $533 million and every other branch of the public service is subject to Fraser’s audits. ”When it’s combined, it’s a huge amount of money,” Simson said. “And it’s one thing to make sure the columns add up. It’s a performance issue in terms of making sure that she could see a trend. She could see an economy of scale. She could see ways we could save money.”

'I can assure you nobody is getting their moat paid for'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 10:18 AM - 15 Comments

Stephen Maher asks and both Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe say they’re open to allowing Sheila Fraser to audit MP expenses. Peter Stoffer says he’ll release details of his expenses, but then says he can’t.

Last week, Stoffer, the NDP MP for Sackville-Eastern Shore, said he believes Fraser should be allowed to examine Parliament’s books and promised to check to see if he could reveal at least the details of his own expenses. On Monday, he said he checked with Davies and was forbidden from doing so, since the board of internal economy handles all such questions.

Whatever the authority of the Board, it hasn’t prevented Liberal backbencher Michelle Simson from publishing a breakdown of her expenses.

Post-Throne Speech party

By Mitchel Raphael - Monday, March 8, 2010 at 12:33 PM - 6 Comments

After the Throne Speech, folks gathered in the Hall of Honour. Below, Auditor General Sheila Fraser (left) and Tory Senator Nancy Ruth.

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Conservative Senator Partrick Brazeau.

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Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.

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NDP MP Peter Stoffer helps serve sushi.

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Canadian astronaut Julie Payette (left) and Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton.

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Christopher White, the founder of Canadians Against Prorogation, with NDP MP Linda Duncan.

Held accountable in the House

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 2:08 PM - 43 Comments

Some years ago, speculation arose that the Prime Minister of the day was preparing to prorogue Parliament, consequently delaying the delivery of a potentially damning report into his government’s conduct. Suffice it to say, the leader of the opposition and his de facto deputy of the day were quite displeased by this possibility and said so during Question Period that fall afternoon. Continue…