BILL 36 — 2015
AUDITOR GENERAL FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AMENDMENT ACT, 2015

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Auditor General for Local Government Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 5, is amended in the definition of "qualified individual" by striking out "authorized to be an auditor of a company under section 205 of the Business Corporations Act".

2 Section 2 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) An appointment under subsection (1) must be made under section 15 (1) (b) of the Public Service Act.

3 Section 3 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) In planning and conducting a performance audit and in preparing a performance audit report under this Act, the auditor general must comply with the auditing or assurance standards or guidelines or parts thereof, if any, as adopted by regulation.

4 Section 6 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "for cause or because of incapacity" and substituting "with or without cause",

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) For the purposes of subsection (1), the employment termination standards established under section 14.4 (1) of the Public Sector Employers Act apply to the auditor general and, for that purpose, the auditor general is deemed to be appointed to the position of deputy minister. ,

(c) in subsection (2) by striking out "the recommendation of the audit council" and substituting "a recommendation, if any, of the audit council", and

(d) by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) For certainty, the minister may make a recommendation referred to in subsection (1) without requesting the audit council to consider suspension or removal of the auditor general, as the case may be, and in the absence of a recommendation of the audit council under section 19 (1) (c).

5 Sections 8, 9 and 10 are repealed.

6 Section 11 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) The auditor general, in accordance with the Public Service Act,

(a) must appoint as deputy auditor general an individual who is authorized under section 205 of the Business Corporations Act to act as an auditor of a company, and

(b) may appoint the other employees necessary for the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the auditor general.

(4) Section 23 (3) of the Interpretation Act does not apply to the deputy auditor general appointed under subsection (1) (a) of this section.

7 Section 16 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) (c) by striking out "staff who, under section 20, provide assistance to" and substituting "persons who, under section 20, assist", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(7) The auditor general may disclose to a law enforcement agency information relating to the commission of an offence against an enactment of British Columbia or Canada if the auditor general considers there is evidence of an offence.

8 Section 19 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1) (j) and substituting the following:

(j) reviewing and monitoring the performance of the auditor general in respect of the following:

(i) the purpose and mandate of the auditor general under section 3;

(ii) the exercise of powers and the performance of duties under this Act by the auditor general, including, without limitation, the planning and conduct of performance audits and the preparation of performance audit reports, annual reports and other reports, if any, under section 26;

(iii) an annual service plan;

(iv) other matters set out in the regulations, and , and

(b) by repealing subsection (3).

9 Section 20 is repealed and the following substituted:

Resources for audit council

20  (1) For the purpose of assisting the audit council to carry out its responsibilities, the minister may do one or both of the following:

(a) request the deputy minister to provide staff resources;

(b) retain persons and set their remuneration and other terms and conditions of their retainers.

(2) The Public Service Act does not apply to persons retained under subsection (1) (b).

10 Section 21 is amended

(a) in subsection (3) (b) (ii) by striking out "if there is" and substituting "if the auditor general is suspended, there is", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) For certainty, at a meeting convened in accordance with subsection (3) (a), the audit council may consider recommending to the minister the suspension or removal of the auditor general.

11 The following sections are added to Part 3:

Access to records and information

21.1  (1) The audit council may request that the auditor general give access to records or information that the audit council considers necessary for the members of the audit council to carry out their responsibilities under this Act, other than

(a) a record or information obtained in the exercise of a power or the performance of a duty of the auditor general under this Act,

(b) personal information as defined in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, or

(c) a record or information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege.

(2) On receipt of a request under subsection (1), the auditor general must give the audit council, or a person who, under section 20, assists the audit council to carry out its responsibilities, access to the requested records or information.

Report to minister

21.2  The audit council may prepare a report respecting the performance of the auditor general in relation to any or all of the matters referred to in section 19 (1) (j) and may provide the report to the minister.

12 Section 22 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (2) (a),

(b) in subsection (2) (b) by striking out "fiscal year addressed by the estimate referred to in paragraph (a)" and substituting "upcoming fiscal year",

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) Before preparing a proposed annual service plan under subsection (1), the auditor general must, in the manner and to the extent the auditor general considers advisable, consult with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities respecting themes on which some or all performance audits may be based. ,

(d) by repealing subsection (5) (a), and

(e) in subsection (5) (b) by striking out "subsection (2) (a) or" and substituting "subsection (2)".

13 Section 23 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(4.1) The auditor general must consider any comments provided by the audit council under subsection (4).

14 Section 24 (2) is amended by striking out "staff who, under section 20, provide assistance to" and substituting "persons who, under section 20, assist".

15 Section 25 (2) and (4) is repealed and the following substituted:

(4) The auditor general must

(a) consider any comments provided by the audit council under subsection (3) (a), and

(b) if the audit council provides a statement in accordance with subsection (3) (b), include the statement in the annual report.

16 Section 26 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(2.1) The auditor general must consider the comments provided by the audit council under subsection (2).

17 Section 27 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by adding "in Council" after "The Lieutenant Governor",

(b) in subsection (1) by adding the following paragraph:

(e.1) for the purposes of section 19 (1) (j), setting out other matters in respect of which the audit council is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the performance of the auditor general; , and

(c) by adding the following subsections:

(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations to adopt all or part of, and with any changes considered appropriate by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, an auditing or assurance standard or guideline set by a provincial, national, international or any other standard making body.

(6) A standard or guideline referred to in subsection (5) may be adopted as amended, supplemented or replaced from time to time.

18 Section 29 is repealed and the following substituted:

Review of Act

29  (1) Subject to subsection (2), the minister may, at any time, review one or both of

(a) this Act, and

(b) the functioning of the office of the auditor general.

(2) After this Act has been in force for 5 years, the minister must begin a review, in respect of those 5 years, of

(a) this Act, and

(b) the functioning of the office of the auditor general.

19 Sections 30 to 35 are repealed.

Commencement

20  This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 1] removes the requirement that the individual appointed as auditor general be authorized to be an auditor of a company under section 205 of the Business Corporations Act.

SECTION 2: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 2] provides that the appointment of the auditor general must be made under section 15 (1) (b) of the Public Service Act.

SECTION 3: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 3] requires the auditor general to comply with a standard or guideline, if any, as adopted by regulation, in planning and conducting a performance audit and in preparing a performance audit report under the Act.

SECTION 4: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 6]

• provides that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, with or without cause, order that the auditor general be suspended with or without remuneration or be removed;
• provides that the employment termination standards established under the Public Sector Employers Act apply to the auditor general and, for that purpose, deems the auditor general to be appointed to the position of deputy minister;
• clarifies the minister's authority to make a recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor in Council respecting the suspension or removal of the auditor general.

SECTION 5: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, sections 8, 9 and 10]

• is consequential to the amendment by this Bill to section 2 of the Act;
• repeals provisions relating to the remuneration and expenses of the auditor general, the budget of the auditor general and the preparation of financial statements by the auditor general.

SECTION 6: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 11] provides that

• the auditor general must appoint as deputy auditor general an individual who is authorized under section 205 of the Business Corporations Act to act as an auditor of a company,
• the auditor general may appoint the other employees necessary for the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the auditor general, and
• section 23 (3) of the Interpretation Act does not apply to the deputy auditor general.

SECTION 7: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 16]

• is consequential to the amendment by this Bill to section 20 of the Act;
• provides that the auditor general may disclose to a law enforcement agency information relating to the commission of an offence against an enactment of British Columbia or Canada if the auditor general considers there is evidence of an offence.

SECTION 8: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 19]

• clarifies the responsibility of the audit council to review and monitor the performance of the auditor general and provides the regulations may set out other matters in respect of which the audit council is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the performance of the auditor general;
• is consequential to the amendment by this Bill to the definition of "qualified individual" in section 1 of the Act.

SECTION 9: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 20] provides authority for the minister to request the deputy minister to provide staff resources or to retain persons for the purpose of assisting the audit council to carry out its responsibilities and provides that the Public Service Act does not apply to any persons so retained.

SECTION 10: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 21] clarifies that

• a meeting of the audit council must be convened as soon as is practicable if the auditor general is suspended, and
• the audit council may, at its own initiative, meet and consider recommending to the minister the suspension or removal of the auditor general.

SECTION 11: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, sections 21.1 and 21.2]

• requires the auditor general, on request of the audit council, to give access to records and information other than specified records or information;
• provides that the audit council may prepare a report respecting the performance of the auditor general and provide the report to the minister.

SECTION 12: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 22]

• is consequential to the repeal by this Bill of section 9 of the Act;
• provides that the auditor general must, before preparing a proposed annual service plan, consult with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities respecting themes on which some or all performance audits must be based.

SECTION 13: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 23] provides that the auditor general must consider any comments provided by the audit council in respect of a proposed final performance audit report.

SECTION 14: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 24] is consequential to the amendment by this Bill to section 20 of the Act.

SECTION 15: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 25]

• is consequential to the repeal by this Bill of section 10 of the Act;
• provides that the auditor general must consider any comments provided by the audit council in respect of a proposed final annual report.

SECTION 16: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 26] provides that the auditor general must consider any comments provided by the audit council in respect of a proposed final report under this section of the Act.

SECTION 17: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 27]

• clarifies a reference;
• provides for regulation-making authority in relation to the amendments by this Bill to sections 3 and 19 (1) (j) of the Act.

SECTION 18: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, section 29] provides that

• the minister may, at any time, review one or both of the Act and the functioning of the office of the auditor general, and
• the minister must begin a review of both of those matters after the Act has been in force for 5 years.

SECTION 19: [Auditor General for Local Government Act, sections 30 to 35] repeals transitional provisions that are no longer required.