PACC Committee Report

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(e), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts has the honour to present its

EIGHTH REPORT

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has considered the Performance Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada for the period ending 31 March 2000, and the Report on Plans and Priorities of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada for 2001–2002, and the has agreed to report the following:

Introduction

In fiscal year 1997–98, Part III of the Estimates (the Departmental Expenditure Plan) was split into two separate documents. Reports on plans and priorities are intended to describe a department’s mandate, mission, and strategic objectives, and provides information about its business line structure, expected results, and performance measurement strategy. These reports cover the upcoming fiscal year and the next two years ahead, and are tabled in the House of Commons by the President of Treasury Board after tabling of the Main Estimates.

Departmental performance reports are intended to describe what departments and agencies have achieved against their planned performance expectations as set out in reports on plans and priorities. These reports cover a period up to the end of the previous fiscal year, and are tabled in the House of Commons by the President of the Treasury Board in the fall.

Reports on plans and priorities and performance reports can potentially fulfill several objectives. They can encourage departments to specify the goals they wish to achieve, the challenges they must confront in achieving them, the means they will employ, and the resources they will require. Once these are established, departments and agencies then have indicators against which they can measure their progress and report their performance to Parliament and to the people of Canada. From Parliament’s perspective, the information contained in the reports should be useful in terms of holding government to account. Thus, provided they are used to their fullest potential, these reports represent important accountability documents that should allow readers to determine if departments are meeting their objectives in ways that are efficient, effective, and economical.

The Committee strongly supports the use of reports on plans and priorities and performance reports as accountability documents, as management tools for departments, and as a means of fostering greater transparency in government. The Committee also considers that review of these documents by standing committees of the House of Commons affords parliamentarians an opportunity, not only to learn more about the activities of departments and agencies, but also to communicate their views and concerns regarding the conduct of those activities. This is particularly important with respect to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, which is a parliamentary servant. Accordingly, the Committee met with Ms. Sheila Fraser, Interim Auditor General of Canada, and Mr. Michael McLaughlin, Deputy Auditor General of Corporate Affairs, on 24 April 2001 to discuss the Performance Report of the Office of the Auditor General for the period ended 31 March 2000 and the Report on Plans and Priorities for the Office of the Auditor General for fiscal year 2001–02.