About

44th Parliament, 1st Session
(November 22, 2021 - Present)
Select a different session
Expand All Collapse All

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g) of the House of Commons, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts has a mandate to, among other matters:

review of and report on the Public Accounts of Canada and all reports of the Auditor General of Canada, which shall be severally deemed permanently referred to the Committee immediately after they are laid upon the table [...]

The Committee also has the general mandate given to all committees under Standing Order 108(2); that is, the power to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management and operation of the government department(s) that are assigned to them. In the case of the Committee, the department is the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.

Additionally, the Committee may enquire into any other matter that the House of Commons may refer to it.

The Public Accounts Committee is Parliament’s standing audit committee, and it reviews the work of the federal government’s external auditor, the Auditor General of Canada.

When the Speaker tables a report by the Auditor General in the House of Commons, it is automatically referred to the Public Accounts Committee. The Committee selects the chapters of the report it wants to study and calls the Auditor General and senior public servants from the audited organizations to appear before it to respond to the Office of the Auditor General’s findings. The Committee also reviews the federal government’s consolidated financial statements – the Public Accounts of Canada – and examines financial and/or accounting shortcomings raised by the Auditor General. At the conclusion of a study, the Committee may present a report to the House of Commons that includes recommendations to the government for improvements in administrative and financial practices and controls of federal departments and agencies.

Government policy, and the extent to which policy objectives are achieved, are generally not examined by the Public Accounts Committee. Instead, the Committee focuses on government administration – the economy and efficiency of program delivery as well as the adherence to government policies, directives and standards. The Committee seeks to hold the government to account for effective public administration and due regard for public funds.

Under the Westminster-style legislative tradition that Canada inherited from the United Kingdom, a government cannot spend public monies or raise taxes without first seeking and securing the explicit consent of Parliament. It is also necessary to ensure that these funds have been spent in the amounts and for the purpose specified by the authorization. Thus, some form of public accounting and auditing must be undertaken to ensure that Parliament’s intentions have been respected. That accounting and auditing role has traditionally been carried out by a public accounts committee.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has been in existence since Confederation, and has precursors that considerably predate 1867.

In 1878, the Consolidated Revenue and Audit Act established the position of the Auditor General as an officer and servant of Parliament to control the issue of public monies and audit expenditures. The audit reports were then made available to the House and to the Public Accounts Committee.

In 1931, the dual functions of controlling the issuance of public monies and the audit of expenditures were separated into two distinct positions. The Auditor General retained full responsibility for executing an independent ex post audit of government expenditures. A new position was formed, the Comptroller of the Treasury, to control the issuance of monies and carry out an executive audit before payment.

In 1958, after almost 90 years of being chaired by government members, the Public Accounts Committee returned to the British House of Commons tradition of selecting the Chair from the ranks of the Official Opposition. Furthermore, after 1958, the examination of the Auditor General’s report became a regular activity of the Committee.

In 1977, amendments to the Auditor General Act (the Act) redefined and expanded the mandate of the Office of the Auditor General. In addition to carrying out financial audits of the government’s financial statements, the Office was given the capacity to conduct performance audits that examine government management practices, controls, and reporting systems in order to assess whether the government has given due regard for economy and efficiency, and has procedures to measure and report on effectiveness.

In June 1994, the Act was amended again to provide for the production of up to three reports per year in addition to the Auditor General’s annual report. Further amendments to the Act in December 1995 established the position of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the Office of the Auditor General.

In the execution of its functions, each committee is normally assisted by a committee clerk, one or more analysts and a committee assistant. Occasional assistance is also provided by legislative clerks and lawyers from the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel. These individuals are non-partisan and serve all members of the committee and representatives of all parties equally.

Committee Clerk

The clerk performs their duties and responsibilities under the direction of the committee and its Chair. As an expert in the rules of the House of Commons, the clerk may be requested to give advice to the Chair and members of the committee should a question of procedure arise. The clerk is the coordinator, organizer and liaison officer for the committee, and as such, will be in frequent contact with members’ staff. They are also responsible for inviting witnesses and dealing with all the details regarding their appearance before the committee.

Committee Assistant

The committee assistant provides a wide range of specialized administrative services for the organization of committee meetings and the publishing of documents on the committee’s Website. The committee assistant works with the clerk to meet the needs of the committee.

Committee Analyst

The Library of Parliament’s analysts, who are subject-matter experts, provide authoritative, substantive, and timely research, analysis and information to all members of the committee. They are part of the committee’s institutional memory and are a unique resource for parliamentarians. Supported by research librarians, the analysts work individually or in multidisciplinary teams.

Analysts can prepare: briefing notes on the subjects being examined; detailed study plans; lists of proposed witnesses; analyses of an issue with a list of suggested questions; background papers; draft reports; news releases; and/or formal correspondence. Analysts with legal training can assist the committee regarding any substantive issues that may arise during the consideration of bills.

OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE AS REQUIRED

Parliamentary Counsel

Within the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, parliamentary counsel (Legislation) are available to assist members who are not in Cabinet with the preparation of private members’ bills or of amendments to government bills or others.

Once a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides the name of the parliamentary counsel (Legislation) responsible for the drafting of the amendments for a particular bill to the members.

Legislative Clerk

The legislative clerk serves all members of the committee as a specialist of the process by which a bill becomes law. They are available to give, upon request from members and their staff, advice on the admissibility of amendments when bills are referred to committee. The legislative clerk organizes the amendments into packages for committee stage, reviews all the committee amendments for procedural admissibility and prepares draft rulings for the Chair. During clause-by-clause consideration of bills in committee, a legislative clerk is in attendance to assist the committee with any procedural issues that may arise. The legislative clerk can also provide members with advice regarding the procedural admissibility of report stage amendments. When a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides to the members the name of the legislative clerk assigned to the bill.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is an officer of Parliament created by the Parliament of Canada Act who supports Parliament by providing analysis, including analysis of macroeconomic and fiscal policy, for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability.

The Parliament of Canada Act also provides the PBO with a mandate to, if requested by a committee, estimate the financial cost of any proposal over which Parliament has jurisdiction. Certain committees can also request research and analyses of the nation’s finances or economy, or of the estimates.

Further information on the PBO may be found at: http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/

In the 2nd session of the 43rd Parliament, Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) passed two new routine motions to assist it in getting quicker responses from government departments as well as responses to Committee reports of previous parliaments and hoped that future committees would also adopt them as routine motions. In the 1st Session of the 43rd Parliament, the Committee held a public hearing to consider the certificate of nomination of Karen Hogan for the position of Auditor General of Canada.

Additionally, the Committee presents numerous reports to the House each year. In the 2nd session of the 43rd Parliament, PACP presented the following 25 reports as follows:

  • Sixteen studies of performance audit reports tabled by the Auditor General of Canada
  • Five reports requesting government responses to reports presented in the previous Parliament (resulting from the Committee’s semi-annual follow-up work)
  • Two reports on the Main Estimates
  • One report on the Public Accounts of Canada
  • One report recommending more stable funding for the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG)

Some examples of PACP reports include:

  • Report 15 – Public Accounts of Canada 2020, 2nd Session, 43rd Parliament In its report on the Public Accounts of Canada 2020, the Committee congratulated the Government of Canada for receiving its 22nd consecutive unmodified audit opinion on the federal government’s consolidated financial statements. It remained concerned about the errors caused by the Phoenix pay system reported by the OAG and urged the government to continue its work to reduce the number of pay errors and outstanding transactions. Notwithstanding the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee expects the government to continue to rigorously report its revenues and expenses in fiscal year 2020-2021 and that the OAG maintain its high-quality standards in auditing the next edition of the Public Accounts of Canada.

  • Report 17 – Canada Emergency Response Benefit, 2nd Session, 43rd Parliament During its study of the OAG’s 2021 audit of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the Committee learned that despite not having the usual time required to perform analysis for the design of a new benefit, Employment and Social Development Canada and Finance Canada had considered and conducted analysis in key areas as part of the program’s initial design and subsequent adjustments. In its report, the Committee made four recommendations to ensure that the necessary verifications and program assessments are conducted as thoroughly and diligently as possible.

  • Report 2 - Chapter 9, Pension and Insurance Administration - Royal Canadian Mounted Police of the November 2006 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, 2nd Session, 39th Parliament During its study of the OAG’s November 2006 audit on the outsourcing of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) pension and insurance administration, the Committee heard allegations of fraud, abuse of authority, contracting irregularities, and harassment by senior members of the RCMP. In order to address the serious wrongdoing that occurred, the Committee’s report made 31 recommendations, which included: improving procedures for disclosing wrongdoing, tightening the rules for contracting, strengthening the authority of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP and the RCMP Ethics Advisor, and creating an independent police accountability board.