SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES
2011 Legislative Session: Third Session, 39th Parliament
SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES
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SELECT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES |
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Thursday, July 21, 2011
10:30 a.m.
Douglas Fir Committee Room
Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C.
Present: Rob Howard, MLA (Chair); Doug Donaldson, MLA (Deputy Chair); Mable Elmore, MLA; Dave S. Hayer, MLA; Pat Pimm, MLA; Bruce Ralston, MLA; Bill Routley, MLA; Dr. Moira Stilwell, MLA; Jane Thornthwaite, MLA
Unavoidably Absent: Bill Bennett, MLA
1. There not yet being a Chair elected to serve the Committee, the meeting was called to order at 10:34 a.m. by the Clerk Assistant and Acting Clerk of Committees.
2. Resolved, that Rob Howard, MLA be elected Chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. (Doug Donaldson, MLA)
3. Resolved, that Doug Donaldson, MLA be elected Deputy Chair of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. (Bruce Ralston, MLA)
4. Resolved, that the Chair and Deputy Chair review the proposed public hearing locations for the 2011 Budget Consultation Process and return to the Committee for approval. (Rob Howard, MLA)
5. The Committee discussed the draft timeline for the 2011 Budget Consultation Process.
6. Resolved, that the Chair and Deputy Chair review recommendations for the appointment of an audit firm to undertake a financial audit of the Office of the Auditor General and return to the Committee for approval. (Bruce Ralston, MLA)
7. The Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair at 10:44 a.m.
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS
(Hansard)
select standing committee on
Finance and Government Services
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Issue No. 42
ISSN 1499-4178
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contents |
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Page |
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Election of Chair and Deputy Chair |
1191 |
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Public Hearing Locations |
1191 |
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Budget Consultation Process Timeline |
1191 |
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Auditor General Financial Statements Auditor |
1192 |
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Chair: |
* Rob Howard (Richmond Centre L) |
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Deputy Chair: |
* Doug Donaldson (Stikine NDP) |
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Members: |
Bill Bennett (Kootenay East L) |
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* Dave S. Hayer (Surrey-Tynehead L) |
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* Pat Pimm (Peace River North L) |
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* Dr. Moira Stilwell (Vancouver-Langara L) |
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* Jane Thornthwaite (North Vancouver–Seymour L) |
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* Mable Elmore (Vancouver-Kensington NDP) |
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* Bruce Ralston (Surrey-Whalley NDP) |
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* Bill Routley (Cowichan Valley NDP) |
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* denotes member present |
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Clerk: |
Kate Ryan-Lloyd |
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Committee Staff: |
Byron Plant (Committee Research Analyst) |
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Susan Sourial (Committee Research Analyst) |
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[ Page 1191 ]
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2011
The committee met at 10:34 a.m.
Election of Chair and Deputy Chair
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk Assistant and Acting Clerk of Committees): Good morning, everyone. As this is the first meeting of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services for the present session and there not yet being a Chair elected to serve the committee, I hereby open the floor to nominations for the position of Chair.
D. Donaldson: I'll nominate Rob Howard.
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): Thank you.
Are there any further nominations? Seeing none, I presume you would accept nomination, Rob?
R. Howard: Yes.
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): Okay, I will put the question to the committee.
Motion approved.
[R. Howard in the chair.]
R. Howard (Chair): Thank you, and good morning. The next item for business is the election of a Deputy Chair. Can we have nominations for Deputy Chair?
B. Ralston: I nominate Doug Donaldson.
R. Howard (Chair): Any other nominations?
Seeing no other nominations, Doug, would you accept?
D. Donaldson: I do.
R. Howard (Chair): We'll call the vote.
Motion approved.
R. Howard (Chair): Welcome, Deputy Chair.
D. Donaldson (Deputy Chair): The last time I said "I do" was 20 years ago at my wedding.
R. Howard (Chair): And that worked just really well, didn't it? So a good omen.
B. Ralston: It may not last as long.
Public Hearing Locations
R. Howard (Chair): The first item we have up is a review of the public hearing locations, which were distributed with the meeting agenda. I'm happy to accept anybody's thoughts at this time but would like to suggest that the committee would refer this to the Deputy Chair and myself to let us come up with the 2011 schedule.
Of course, we can undertake to keep our respective members up to date on our thoughts. We would then come back to the next meeting of this committee with an agreed travel schedule, or not, and ask the committee to vote on it. But I'm sure we can come up with something.
Can I have a motion?
D. Hayer: That sounds good to me. I think that's pretty good. I think that's what we've done in the past. We got the Chair and the vice-Chair to go together, look at the list and then come back. Then the committee gets a chance to vote on it.
Motion approved.
Budget Consultation Process Timeline
R. Howard (Chair): Next up on the agenda is just the preliminary draft of the 2011 timeline. Just as an overview — and the Clerk can correct me — we're driven by working backwards from the 15th of November, when we are expected to report to the Legislature.
Prior to that report, I'm told, it takes about one month for the committee to meet, draft, edit, review and submit the report and accomplish some of the other processes that we're charged with, which is a review of budget proposals for the statutory officers and the selection of auditors for the Office of the Auditor General. So that would take us, moving backwards, to about the middle of October.
The first meeting of the committee has historically been with the Minister of Finance, at which time he makes a presentation, I guess, and charges us with our preconsultation duties, that being the middle of September. So we have, roughly, one month, then, to accommodate the tour of the province.
B. Ralston: Generally, the minister presents at the same time he does the quarterly report. So it's usually the end of the first full week in September — the Thursday or Friday. Then the statutory officers, I think, traditionally have been — I think last year we did them a bit earlier — either the last week of November or the first week of December.
R. Howard (Chair): Okay. Can I just ask the Clerk to clarify. Given the calendar as we understand it at this time, would our target be the middle of November, or do we have a little more flexibility?
[ Page 1192 ]
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): With respect to the review of the statutory officers, yes. As the committee will know, there are eight statutory officers in British Columbia, and the terms of reference refer to this committee their annual reports, three-year service plans and budget proposals for your consideration. We always do work very closely with those offices to coordinate a convenient time for them to appear before you and to answer any questions that you might have.
As members have noted already this morning, that typically happens towards the end of November. We try not to load up your very busy falls too much in an impractical sense, given that you will likely be travelling quite a bit at the end of September, possibly early October.
Report deliberations for the budget consultation process, as the Chair has described, usually take a number of weeks. So just as that process wraps up, then we will shift gears and begin to plan the next step of your work with respect to the statutory offices.
Auditor General Financial Statements Auditor
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): As noted, as well, on the agenda and as the Chair mentioned, I also just wanted to briefly note that there is a requirement by statute within the Auditor General Act that provides for the appointment of an audit firm to undertake a financial audit of the Office of the Auditor General. This committee, the Finance Committee, is the designated committee to take on that task.
Although the committee has not yet had an opportunity in the current parliament, the 39th parliament, to look at that issue, I would propose that the Chair and the Deputy Chair could confer and then report back to the full committee with respect to some of the options regarding either the reappointment of the current auditor, Grant Thornton, or perhaps contemplating a more fulsome RFP process, if it was the wish of the committee.
That is probably, I would suggest, with respect to your timelines, a matter that could be dealt with at any point this fall but certainly, perhaps, after the statutory officer process wraps up, if it was the wish of the committee.
R. Howard (Chair): The Deputy Chair has a question.
D. Donaldson (Deputy Chair): Yeah. That's what I recall. November 15. We worked towards the deadline on the report from our public hearings, and then afterwards we dove into the statutory officers' budgets.
As far as the selection of auditors, I think that's a good suggestion — to wait till later in the fall.
Maybe you could tweak my memory about what we did last year. Did we pass a motion about its going out to tender — the contract for that? What did we do? I can't remember. If you can just remind me.
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): If my recollection is correct, I believe yourself as Deputy Chair of the committee as well as the former Chair, John Les, agreed to simply send a letter reappointing Grant Thornton for one further fiscal year.
It was expected, pursuant to the statutory provision, that the committee would undertake or consider the merits of a more fulsome process, but given the timelines that were in play both in 2009 and 2010, the matter has essentially been deferred. I raise it this morning just as an information item for your consideration.
Yeah, I believe the correspondence that was cosigned by both the Chair and the Deputy Chair late last fall went out to Grant Thornton in November, December 2010.
R. Howard (Chair): Is there any merit to the committee deliberating on that auditor question earlier than later?
K. Ryan-Lloyd (Acting Clerk of Committees): Certainly, it would be whatever is the preference of the committee. We have begun to prepare a background preliminary briefing note, which I'd certainly be pleased to share with committee members for your consideration. Then if the Chair and Deputy Chair wish to address it sooner rather than later, we can make arrangements prior to the budget process, if that was your wish.
R. Howard (Chair): Okay. Thank you.
B. Ralston: Why don't the Chair and the vice-Chair just bring that back when they've got the report and have some kind of recommendation to offer?
R. Howard (Chair): That sounds like a plan. So that's a motion?
B. Ralston: I could do that, sure. So moved.
R. Howard (Chair): I'll call the question.
Motion approved.
R. Howard (Chair): Thank you. That will finish off this meeting, unless there is any other business.
D. Hayer: No, that's good.
R. Howard (Chair): Seeing and hearing no other business, we'll call adjournment.
Motion approved.
The committee adjourned at 10:44 a.m.
Copyright © 2011: British Columbia Hansard Services, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada