[38] Bill 18 Royal Assent (PDF)
Bill 18 2004
An Act respecting the
Provincial Auditor
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Audit Act
1. The title of the Audit Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Auditor General Act
2. (1) The definition of "agency of the Crown" in section 1 of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
(2) The definition of "Assistant Auditor" in section 1 of the Act is repealed.
(3) The English version of section 1 of the Act is amended by adding the following definition:
"audit" includes a special audit; ("vérification", "vérifier")
(4) The definition of "Auditor" in section 1 of the Act is repealed.
(5) Section 1 of the Act is amended by adding the following definition:
"grant recipient" means an association, authority, board, commission, corporation, council, foundation, institution, organization or other body that receives a reviewable grant directly or indirectly; ("bénéficiaire d'une subvention")
(6) The English version of the definition of "inspection audit" in section 1 of the Act is repealed.
(7) The French version of the definition of "inspection audit" in section 1 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
«vérification» S'entend en outre d'une vérification spéciale. Le verbe «vérifier» a un sens correspondant. («audit»)
(8) The definition of "Office of the Auditor" in section 1 of the Act is repealed.
(9) Section 1 of the Act is amended by adding the following definitions:
"reviewable grant" means a grant or other transfer payment from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, from an agency of the Crown or from a Crown controlled corporation; ("subvention susceptible d'examen")
"special audit" means an examination with respect to the matters described in subclauses 12 (2) (f) (i) to (v). ("vérification spéciale")
3. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
References to former names
1.1 A reference in an Act, regulation, order in council or document to a person or office by the former title of that person or the former name of that office set out in Column 1 of the following Table or by a shortened version of that title or name shall be deemed, unless a contrary intention appears, to be a reference to the new title of that person or the new name of that office set out in Column 2:
|
Column 1/Colonne 1 |
Column 2/Colonne 2 |
|
Former titles and names/Anciens titres et anciennes appellations |
New titles and names/Nouveaux titres et nouvelles appellations |
|
Assistant Provincial Auditor/vérificateur provincial adjoint |
Deputy Auditor General/sous-vérificateur général |
|
Office of the Provincial Auditor/Bureau du vérificateur provincial |
Office of the Auditor General/Bureau du vérificateur général |
|
Provincial Auditor/vérificateur provincial |
Auditor General/vérificateur général |
4. Section 2 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Office of the Auditor General
2. The Office of the Auditor General consists of the Auditor General, the Deputy Auditor General and such employees as the Auditor General may require for the proper conduct of the business of the Office.
5. Section 3 of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" and substituting "Auditor General".
6. Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Term of office
4. (1) The term of office of the Auditor General is 10 years and a person is not eligible to be appointed to more than one term of office.
Same
(2) The Auditor General continues to hold office after the expiry of his or her term of office until a successor is appointed.
Removal
(3) The Auditor General may be removed from office for cause, before the expiry of his or her term of office, by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the address of the Assembly.
7. Subsection 5 (1) of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 1999, chapter 5, section 1 and 1999, chapter 11, section 1, subsection 5 (2) of the Act, as re-enacted by 1999, chapter 11, section 1, and subsection 5 (3) of the Act are amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
8. Section 6 of the Act is amended by striking out "Assistant Auditor" and substituting "Deputy Auditor General" and by striking out "the Auditor" and substituting "the Auditor General".
9. Section 7 of the Act is amended,
(a) by striking out "Assistant Auditor" and substituting "Deputy Auditor General"; and
(b) by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General".
10. Section 8 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2004, chapter 8, section 46, Table, is amended by striking out "as Auditor and Assistant Auditor" and substituting "as Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General".
11. Subsections 9 (1), (2), (3) and (4) of the Act are amended by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General".
12. The Act is amended by adding the following sections:
Special audits
Grant recipients
9.1 (1) On or after April 1, 2005, the Auditor General may conduct a special audit of a grant recipient with respect to a reviewable grant received by the grant recipient directly or indirectly on or after the date on which the Audit Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004 receives Royal Assent.
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply with respect to a grant recipient that is a municipality.
Crown controlled corporations, etc.
(3) The Auditor General may conduct a special audit of a Crown controlled corporation or a subsidiary of a Crown controlled corporation.
Examination of accounting records
9.2 (1) The Auditor General may examine accounting records relating to a reviewable grant received directly or indirectly by a municipality.
Same
(2) The Auditor General may require a municipality to prepare and submit a financial statement setting out the details of its disposition of the reviewable grant.
13. Sections 10 and 11 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:
Duty to furnish information
10. (1) Every ministry of the public service, every agency of the Crown, every Crown controlled corporation and every grant recipient shall give the Auditor General the information regarding its powers, duties, activities, organization, financial transactions and methods of business that the Auditor General believes to be necessary to perform his or her duties under this Act.
Access to records
(2) The Auditor General is entitled to have free access to all books, accounts, financial records, electronic data processing records, reports, files and all other papers, things or property belonging to or used by a ministry, agency of the Crown, Crown controlled corporation or grant recipient, as the case may be, that the Auditor General believes to be necessary to perform his or her duties under this Act.
No waiver of privilege
(3) A disclosure to the Auditor General under subsection (1) or (2) does not constitute a waiver of solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege or settlement privilege.
Power to examine on oath
11. (1) The Auditor General may examine any person on oath on any matter pertinent to an audit or examination under this Act.
Same
(2) For the purpose of an examination, the Auditor General has the powers that Part II of the Public Inquiries Act confers on a commission, and that Part applies to the examination as if it were an inquiry under that Act.
Stationing a member in a ministry, etc.
11.1 (1) For the purpose of exercising powers or performing duties under this Act, the Auditor General may station one or more members of the Office of the Auditor General in any ministry of the public service, agency of the Crown, Crown controlled corporation or grant recipient.
Accommodation
(2) The ministry, agency, corporation or grant recipient, as the case may be, shall provide the accommodation required for the purposes mentioned in subsection (1).
Prohibition re obstruction
11.2 (1) No person shall obstruct the Auditor General or any member of the Office of the Auditor General in the performance of a special audit under section 9.1 or an examination under section 9.2 and no person shall conceal or destroy any books, accounts, financial records, electronic data processing records, reports, files and all other papers, things or property that the Auditor General considers to be relevant to the subject-matter of the special audit or examination.
Offence
(2) Every person who knowingly contravenes subsection (1) and every director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs in such a contravention is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or both.
Penalty, corporation
(3) If a corporation is convicted of an offence under subsection (2), the maximum penalty that may be imposed on the corporation is $25,000.
14. (1) Subsection 12 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
(2) Subsection 12 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" in the portion before clause (a) and substituting "Auditor General".
(3) Clause 12 (2) (a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
(a) the work of the Office of the Auditor General and on whether, in carrying on the work of the Office, the Auditor General received all the information and explanations required;
(4) Clause 12 (2) (c) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
(c) the examination of the consolidated financial statements of Ontario as reported in the Public Accounts;
(5) Clause 12 (2) (e) of the Act is amended by striking out "the Management Board of Cabinet" and substituting "the Treasury Board".
(6) Clause 12 (2) (f) of the Act is amended by striking out the portion before subclause (i) and substituting the following:
(f) such matters as, in the opinion of the Auditor General, should be brought to the attention of the Assembly including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any matter relating to the audit or examination of the Crown, Crown controlled corporations or grant recipients or any cases where the Auditor General has observed that,
. . . . .
(7) The English version of subclause 12 (2) (f) (v) of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" and substituting "Auditor General".
(8) Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:
Opinion on statements
(3) In the annual report in respect of each fiscal year, the Auditor General shall express his or her opinion as to whether the consolidated financial statements of Ontario, as reported in the Public Accounts, present fairly information in accordance with appropriate generally accepted accounting principles and the Auditor General shall set out any reservations he or she may have.
15. Sections 13 and 14 of the Act are repealed.
16. Section 15 of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
17. Section 16 of the Act is amended,
(a) by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General"; and
(b) by striking out "the Office of the Auditor" in the portion before clause (a) and substituting "the Office of the Auditor General".
18. Sections 17 and 18 of the Act are amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
19. Section 19 of the Act is amended by striking out "Office of the Auditor" and substituting "Office of the Auditor General".
20. Section 20 of the Act is amended,
(a) by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General";
(b) by striking out "the Office of the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Office of the Auditor General"; and
(c) by striking out "Assistant Auditor" and substituting "Deputy Auditor General".
21. (1) Subsection 21 (1) of the Act is amended,
(a) by striking out "Office of the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Office of the Auditor General";
(b) by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General"; and
(c) by striking out "Provincial Auditor" in clause (a) and substituting "Auditor General".
(2) Subsection 21 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
(3) Subsections 21 (3) and (4) of the Act are amended by striking out "Office of the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Office of the Auditor General".
22. (1) Subsection 22 (1) of the Act is amended,
(a) by striking out "the Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the Auditor General";
(b) by striking out "the Assistant Auditor" and substituting "the Deputy Auditor General"; and
(c) by striking out "Office of the Auditor" and substituting "Office of the Auditor General".
(2) Subsection 22 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Pension plan
(2) The Auditor General and the Deputy Auditor General are members of the Public Service Pension Plan.
23. Section 23 of the Act is amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
24. Section 24 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Delegation of authority
24. The Auditor General may delegate in writing to a person employed in the Office of the Auditor General the Auditor General's authority to exercise any power or perform any duty other than his or her duty to report to the Assembly.
25. Subsection 25 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "Office of the Auditor" in the portion before clause (a) and in clause (c) and substituting in each case "Office of the Auditor General".
26. Section 26 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Conduct of business and employee discipline
26. (1) The Auditor General may make orders and rules for the conduct of the internal business of the Office of the Auditor General and, subject to this section, may for cause suspend, demote or dismiss an employee of the Office or may release such an employee from employment.
Suspension, etc., of employee
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if the Auditor General for cause suspends, demotes or dismisses an employee of the Office of the Auditor General or if the Auditor General releases such an employee from employment, the provisions of the Public Service Act and the regulations made under it that apply where a deputy minister exercises powers under section 22 of that Act apply, with necessary modifications.
Same
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Public Service Act and the regulations under it apply as if the Auditor General were a deputy minister, but the requirement that a deputy minister give notice to, or obtain the approval of, the Civil Service Commission does not apply.
Grievances
(4) An employee whom the Auditor General for cause suspends, demotes or dismisses may file a grievance with respect to the Auditor General's decision.
Same
(5) The provisions of the regulations made under the Public Service Act that apply in relation to grievances authorized by those regulations apply with necessary modifications to a grievance authorized by subsection (4) as if the Auditor General were a deputy minister.
27. (1) Subsection 27 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "the Auditor, the Assistant Auditor, any person employed in the Office of the Auditor or any person appointed to assist the Auditor" and substituting "the Auditor General, the Deputy Auditor General, any person employed in the Office of the Auditor General or any person appointed to assist the Auditor General".
(2) Subsection 27 (2) of the Act is repealed.
28. The Act is amended by adding the following sections:
Duty of confidentiality
27.1 (1) The Auditor General, the Deputy Auditor General and each person employed in the Office of the Auditor General or appointed to assist the Auditor General for a limited period of time or in respect of a particular matter shall preserve secrecy with respect to all matters that come to his or her knowledge in the course of his or her employment or duties under this Act.
Same
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the persons required to preserve secrecy under subsection (1) shall not communicate to another person any matter described in subsection (1) except as may be required in connection with the administration of this Act or any proceedings under this Act or under the Criminal Code (Canada).
Same
(3) A person required to preserve secrecy under subsection (1) shall not disclose any information or document disclosed to the Auditor General under section 10 that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege or settlement privilege unless the person has the consent of each holder of the privilege.
Confidentiality of personal information
27.2 (1) No person shall collect, use or retain personal information on behalf of the Auditor General unless the personal information is reasonably necessary for the proper administration of this Act or for a proceeding under it.
Same
(2) No person shall collect, use or retain personal information on behalf of the Auditor General if other information will serve the purpose for which the personal information would otherwise be collected, used or retained.
Retention of information
(3) If the Auditor General retains personal information relating to the medical, psychiatric or physiological history of the individual or information relating to the individual's health care or well-being, the Auditor General shall,
(a) remove all references in the information to the name of the individual and to other identifying information;
(b) retain the information by using a system of identifiers, other than the name of the individual and the other identifying information mentioned in clause (a); and
(c) ensure that the information is not,
(i) easily identifiable by a person who is not authorized to have access to it,
(ii) used or disclosed for purposes not directly related to the Auditor General's duties under this Act,
(iii) published, disclosed or distributed in any manner that would allow the information to be used to identify the individual or to infer the individual's identity, or
(iv) combined, linked or matched to any other information that could identify the individual, except if the Auditor General finds it necessary to do so to fulfil his or her duties under this Act.
Definition
(4) In this section,
"personal information" has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
29. Section 28 of the Act, as amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2004, chapter 8, section 46, Table, is amended by striking out "the Office of the Auditor" and substituting "the Office of the Auditor General".
30. Subsections 29 (1), (2) and (3) of the Act are amended by striking out "Auditor" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
Complementary Amendments
31. Subsection 11 (2) of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act, 1999 is amended by striking out "Audit Act" and substituting "Auditor General Act".
32. Each Act specified in Column 1 of the Table to this section is amended by striking out "Provincial Auditor" wherever it appears in the provision or provisions specified in Column 2 and substituting in each case "Auditor General".
TABLE
|
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
|
Act |
Provision |
|
AgriCorp Act, 1996 |
section 13 |
|
Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act (Ontario) |
subsection 7 (1), section 8 |
|
Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act |
section 6 |
|
Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Research Foundation Act |
section 16 |
|
Algonquin Forestry Authority Act |
section 18 in the portion before clause (a), clause 18 (b) |
|
Arts Council Act |
section 11 |
|
Cancer Act |
section 12 |
|
Capital Investment Plan Act, 1993 |
subsections 13 (1) and (2) |
|
Centennial Centre of Science and Technology Act |
section 9 |
|
Community Psychiatric Hospitals Act |
subsection 4 (8) |
|
Courts of Justice Act |
subsection 89 (9) |
|
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994 |
subsection 257 (2) |
|
Crown Foundations Act, 1996 |
subsection 16 (2) |
|
Development Corporations Act |
section 26 |
|
Education Quality and Accountability Office Act, 1996 |
subsection 24 (3) |
|
Election Act |
subsection 113 (6) |
|
Election Finances Act |
section 8 |
|
Electricity Act, 1998 |
section 80 |
|
Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 |
section 56 |
|
Environmental Protection Act |
section 120 |
|
Farm Products Payments Act |
subsection 5 (7) |
|
Financial Administration Act |
subsection 11 (3), paragraph 3 of subsection 11.4 (2) |
|
Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act, 1997 |
section 14 |
|
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act |
subsection 9 (2) |
|
GO Transit Act, 2001 |
subsection 13 (2) |
|
Legal Aid Services Act, 1998 |
subsection 65 (3) |
|
Legislative Assembly Act |
subsection 83 (3), sections 86 and 91 |
|
Liquor Control Act |
section 6 |
|
Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre Corporation Act |
subsection 12 (3) |
|
Ministry of Treasury and Economics Act |
clause 13 (2) (c) |
|
Niagara Parks Act |
section 19 |
|
Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Act |
section 8 |
|
Ombudsman Act |
section 10 |
|
Ontario Agricultural Museum Act |
section 13 |
|
Ontario Educational Communications Authority Act |
section 11 |
|
Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 |
subsection 4.8 (4) |
|
Ontario Food Terminal Act |
section 10 |
|
Ontario Heritage Act |
section 16 |
|
Ontario Housing Corporation Act |
section 12 |
|
Ontario Mental Health Foundation Act |
sections 12 and 25 |
|
Ontario Municipal Economic Infrastructure Financing Authority Act, 2002 |
section 15 |
|
Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Act |
section 39 |
|
Ontario Place Corporation Act |
section 13 |
|
Ottawa Congress Centre Act |
subsection 12 (3) |
|
Pay Equity Act |
Schedule, clause 1 (h) |
|
Public Guardian and Trustee Act |
section 17 |
|
Racing Commission Act, 2000 |
section 14 |
|
Securities Act |
subsection 3.9 (4) |
|
Social Contract Act, 1993 |
subsection 9 (2) |
|
St. Clair Parks Commission Act, 2000 |
subsection 11 (3) |
|
St. Lawrence Parks Commission Act |
section 16 |
|
Toronto Area Transit Operating Authority Act |
section 12 |
|
Toronto Islands Residential Community Stewardship Act, 1993 |
subsection 12 (12) |
|
University Foundations Act, 1992 |
subsection 9 (2) |
|
Waterfront Regeneration Trust Agency Act, 1992 |
subsection 13 (3) |
|
Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 |
subsections 168 (3) and 169 (1) |
Commencement and Short Title
Commencement
33. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
34. The short title of this Act is the Audit Statute Law Amendment Act, 2004.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 18 and does not form part of the law. Bill 18 has been enacted as Chapter 17 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2004.
The Audit Act is amended to change the title of the Provincial Auditor to Auditor General and to make corresponding changes to the title of the Assistant Provincial Auditor and the name of the Office of the Provincial Auditor. Complementary amendments are made throughout the Act and to other Acts.
The title of the Audit Act is changed to the Auditor General Act. A complementary amendment is made to another Act.
Section 4 of the Act is re-enacted to specify that the term of office of the Auditor General is 10 years. A person is not eligible to be reappointed.
The new section 9.1 of the Act authorizes the Auditor General to conduct special audits of grant recipients, other than municipalities, and of Crown controlled corporations and their subsidiaries. The expressions "grant recipient" and "special audit" are defined in amendments to section 1 of the Act. The scope of a special audit is specified.
The new section 9.2 of the Act authorizes the Auditor General to examine accounting records relating to reviewable grants received directly or indirectly by municipalities. The expression "reviewable grant" is defined in amendments to section 1 of the Act.
Section 10 of the Act, concerning the Auditor General's access to information and records, is re-enacted with technical amendments. The new subsection 10 (3) specifies that a disclosure to the Auditor General under the Act does not constitute a waiver of specified types of privilege.
Section 11 of the Act re-enacts the current section 14 with technical amendments. The new section 11.1 of the Act re-enacts the current section 11 with technical amendments.
The new section 11.2 of the Act re-enacts the current prohibition in subsection 13 (2) of the Act against obstructing the Auditor General and members of his or her Office in exercising powers and performing duties under the Act when conducting an examination. The new section also prohibits obstruction with respect to a special audit.
Technical amendments are made to subsection 12 (2) of the Act, concerning the contents of the Auditor General's annual report to the Speaker of the Assembly.
The new subsection 12 (3) of the Act describes the scope of the opinion that the Auditor General is required to give about the financial statements of Ontario.
Section 26 of the Act, concerning the conduct of the business of the Office of the Auditor General and the suspension, demotion, dismissal or release of employees from employment is re-enacted with technical amendments. The amendments reflect corresponding amendments made to the Public Service Act in 1996 and to the regulations made under that Act.
The new section 27.1 of the Act, concerning confidentiality, re-enacts the current subsection 27 (2) with technical amendments. The new subsection 27.1 (3) prohibits the disclosure of information and documents that are subject to specified types of privilege, unless the privilege holder consents. The new section 27.2 of the Act governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Auditor General.