Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Last updated

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PACP) is a standing committee of the House of Commons of Canada. It reviews the Auditor General's reports. It is one of five standing committees of the House that is chaired by a member of the opposition. [1]

Contents

Mandate

Membership

PartyMemberDistrict
  Liberal Lloyd Longfield, Vice-Chair Guelph, ON
  Liberal Kody Blois Kings—Hants, NS
  Liberal Jean Yip Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
  Liberal Greg Fergus Hull—Aylmer, QB
  Liberal Francesco Sorbara Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON
  Conservative Kelly Block, Chair Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, SK
  Conservative Luc Berthold Mégantic—L'Érable, QB
  Conservative Philip Lawrence Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON
  Conservative Len Webber Calgary Confederation, AB
  Bloc Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Vice-Chair Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
  New Democratic Matthew Green Hamilton Centre, ON

Subcommittees

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Accountability Office</span> US federal government agency

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States. It identifies its core "mission values" as: accountability, integrity, and reliability. It is also known as the "congressional watchdog". The agency is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The comptroller general is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy occurs in the office of the comptroller general, Congress establishes a commission to recommend individuals to the president. The commission consists of the following:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comptroller and Auditor General (United Kingdom)</span> Government official in the United Kingdom

The comptroller and auditor general (C&AG) in the United Kingdom is the government official responsible for supervising the quality of public accounting and financial reporting. The C&AG is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of the National Audit Office, the body that scrutinises central government expenditure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Audit Office (United Kingdom)</span> UK Parliamentary auditing body

The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The NAO also carries out value for money (VFM) audits into the administration of public policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia House of Assembly</span> Unicameral house of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia

The Nova Scotia House of Assembly, or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758; in 1848, it was the site of the first responsible government in the British Empire. Bills passed by the House of Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia in the name of the King.

The following list outlines the structure of the federal government of Canada, the collective set of federal institutions which can be grouped into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. In turn, these are further divided into departments, agencies, and other organizations which support the day-to-day function of the Canadian state.

The Committee of Public Accounts is a select committee of the British House of Commons. It is responsible for overseeing government expenditures, and to ensure they are effective and honest. The committee is seen as a crucial mechanism for ensuring transparency and accountability in government financial operations, having been described by Professor the Lord Hennessy as "the queen of the select committees...[which] by its very existence exert[s] a cleansing effect in all government departments".

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) is a standing committee of the House of Commons of Canada. The committee was conceived during the first session of the 38th Parliament and held its first meeting in October 2004.

The Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador is appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and confirmed by a resolution of the House of Assembly

A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subsequent to a government budget audit. Typically, the government is required to report back to parliament on PAC recommendations within a specified period, usually two to six months. More often than not, opposition members chair PACs in the commonwealth. Based on their findings, PACs often make recommendations to government ministries requiring that they change certain policies and procedures to improve their operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian National Audit Office</span> Supreme audit institution of Australia

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is the supreme audit institution of Australia, functioning as the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to the Australian Parliament via the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Administratively, the ANAO is located in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a committee of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India, for the purpose of auditing the revenue and the expenditure of the Government of India. They check that parliament exercises over the executive stems from the basic principle that parliament embodies the will of the people. This committee along with the Estimates committee (EC) and Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) are the three financial standing committees of the Parliament of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">41st Canadian Parliament</span> Canadian parliamentary session

The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2011, with the election of Andrew Scheer as Speaker, followed the next day with the Speech from the Throne. There were two sessions in this Parliament. On August 2, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and issue the writ of election, leading to an 11-week election campaign period for the 2015 federal election. Significant legislation adopted during the 41st Parliament included the Copyright Modernization Act, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, the Jobs and Growth Act and the Fair Elections Act.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority Canada is a Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, which was established as a result of recommendations made by the Royal Commission on Pilotage in Canada, by the Pilotage Act, Section 18, on February 1, 1972 mandated to assist in pilotage in all Canadian waters in and around the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comptroller and Auditor General (Bangladesh)</span> Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Bangladesh

The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh (C&AG) is the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the country. Like the SAIs in many other countries across the world the institution is established by the Constitution of Bangladesh. This institute is responsible for maintaining accounts of the republic and audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of Bangladesh, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The reports of the CAG are discussed by the Public Accounts Committee, which is a standing committee in the Parliament of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Jeneroux</span> Canadian politician

Matthew James Arthur Jeneroux is a Canadian politician who has been elected to the House of Commons of Canada since the 2015 federal election. He is the Founder of Hi Dad Foundation, a mental health foundation focused on raising awareness about the importance of men’s mental health. He represents the electoral district of Edmonton Riverbend as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada caucus and is the Shadow Minister for Supply Chains. During the 43rd Canadian Parliament Jeneroux's private member bill An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code was adopted with all party support to extend bereavement leave from 5 to 10 days and entitle employees already on compassionate care leave to also claim bereavement leave.

Cindy Blackstock is a Canadian Gitxsan activist for child welfare and executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. She is also a professor for the School of Social Work at McGill University.

The Canadian Senate expenses scandal, also known as Duffygate, was a political scandal concerning the expense claims of certain Canadian senators which began in late 2012. Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy, Mac Harb, and Pamela Wallin claimed travel and living allowance expenses from the Senate for which they were not eligible. Deloitte LLP was retained to provide the Senate with an independent examination of the expense claims. Duffy, Harb, and Wallin repaid ineligible amounts. Harb retired a few months into the scandal, and in November 2013, Brazeau, Duffy, and Wallin were suspended from the Senate without pay. Brazeau, Duffy, and Harb were criminally charged. On April 21, 2016, Duffy was acquitted on all charges. Charges against Harb were withdrawn and no charges were to be laid against Wallin. The scandal attracted much public attention, with as many as 73% of Canadians following it closely. Many said that the scandal impacted the 2015 Canadian general election.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish Parliament. It oversees government expenditures to ensure they are effective and honest. It is responsible for examining reports of Comptroller and Auditor General on Departmental expenditure and certain other accounts. It also considers the Comptroller and Auditor General's reports of economy, efficiency, effectiveness evaluation systems, procedures and practices. The PAC has a key role to play in ensuring accountability and transparency in the way Government agencies allocate, spend and manage their finances and in guaranteeing that the taxpayer receives value for money for every euro spent. By the nature of its role as the public spending watchdog, the Committee of Public Accounts is one of the most powerful Oireachtas Committees.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a select committee of the House of Representatives in the Parliament of Malaysia. The PAC derives its powers from the Dewan Rakyat which chooses the committee chairperson and deputy chairperson. Based on Standing Order 77(1), the PAC has the power to examine the accounts of the Malaysian government, the accounts of all public authorities, the reports of the auditor-general, and any other matters that "the committee may think fit" or matters referred to the PAC by the Dewan Rakyat.

The Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) is one of three financial standing committees within the Parliament of India, composed of selected members of Parliament with the stated purpose of examining the reports and accounts of public sector undertakings (PSUs). The duties and responsibilities of the COPU are specified in the Fourth Schedule of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. This committee, alongside the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Estimates Committee (EC), are the three financial standing committees of the Parliament of India.

References

  1. The Politics of Public Spending in Canada, by Donald J Savoie, 1990, p32