13 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

The finances of the B.C. legislature are such a mess that Auditor General John Doyle says he can’t even tell if the Legislative Assembly is missing any money.

Doyle released a scathing audit Thursday that pointed to a host of financial irregularities and failures inside the Legislative Assembly, which is responsible for $70 million a year in spending on such things as legislature security, the legislature library, staff, MLA salaries and expenses.

[...]

Read more: http://www.timescolo...l#ixzz21lzfdZBV

[Nparker]

Read more: http://www.timescolo...l#ixzz21lzfdZBV

Quel surprise!

[Candarius]

Amusing that this was not released...until it was in the press that the Speaker had received it but was not planning to release it.

Thankfully no moats being built with taxpayer dollars the way there was in England...but very sad that they have no idea where the money goes!

[spanky123]

Amusing that this was not released...until it was in the press that the Speaker had received it but was not planning to release it.

Thankfully no moats being built with taxpayer dollars the way there was in England...but very sad that they have no idea where the money goes!

At least with the moats they knew were the money went.

Doyle said his auditors had to adjust the legislature’s books by $1.3 billion, due to improper record-keeping and a lack of financial oversight.

When asked if he could conclude if the legislature had lost any money or was the victim of fraud, Doyle replied: “We don’t know.”

I don't how anyone could not consider this theft. Submitting expense reports without paper support and/or charging a corporate credit card and not keeping receipts would likely wind you up in court with any private employer.

[PulpVictor]

At least with the moats they knew were the money went.

Doyle said his auditors had to adjust the legislature’s books by $1.3 billion, due to improper record-keeping and a lack of financial oversight.

When asked if he could conclude if the legislature had lost any money or was the victim of fraud, Doyle replied: “We don’t know.”

I don't how anyone could not consider this theft. Submitting expense reports without paper support and/or charging a corporate credit card and not keeping receipts would likely wind you up in court with any private employer.

Precisely. There is NO transparency, NO oeversight, and NOBODY minding the store. I don't think anyone can afford to support this.

[Nparker]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902)
(expressed this opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887)

[sebberry]

If anyone here hid even $500 from Canada Revenue there'd be hell to pay.

I suspect no heads will roll for this and nobody will be fired or fined.


.

[Sparky]

^ Christy Clark will be fired after the next election...along with Rich Coleman.

Write that down.

[PulpVictor]

^ Christy Clark will be fired after the next election...along with Rich Coleman.

Write that down.

This isn't a politcal problem. Do you think the NDP would manage the books better? Between unionized Public Employees and MLAs that get elected and then never fulfill election promises, we have a system that treats us all like infantile idiots who cannot take care of ourselves. Somehow we keep filling their coffers, however. You never hear anyone say "Our Goverment". It's always The Liberal Government, or Conservative government. They are apart and distant, and we have NO control over what they do.

[LJ]

^ Christy Clark will be fired after the next election...along with Rich Coleman.

Write that down.

It is the legislature accounting, all parties are guilty of the same sloppy behaviour.

I'm being generous saying sloppy rather than fraudulent.

(although I do agree with your comment above)

[spanky123]

An old salt once told me that the best people to steal from were the Government because you can always get away with it. In order for someone to be held accountable it means that someone else has to accept responsibilty for lack of leadership and/or oversight. Since the later will never happen it means that the former won't either.

[Candarius]

One of the biggest problems to me is that the focus is always on the Budget. Look at how much press coverage and discussion happens around the budget (where we find out if we are paying more or less tax).

Now, compare that to the actual results of government. It is much rarer to see the discussion on the ACTUAL RESULTS as opposed to the 'guesstimates' of what is 'probably' going to happen if our estimates and assumptions are fairly close to accurate.

Huh? The budget does not increase debt or waste money...it says what areas the spending will be. The summary financial statements (which the auditor general says are wrong to the tune of half a billion dollars...) are the document that shows how much money government actually spent, how much debt there actually is etc.

So to see the legislative assembly audit get as much press as it did...compared to the summary financial statements getting little...oh well. I am sure there will be press coverage of the next budget before the election that will be larger than everything we have seen this week :-)

[Bingo]

Time for another raid on the Legislature.

Oh wait a minute, last time that happened it cost the taxpayer a hefty legal bill, and the public isn't any wiser.

[eseedhouse]

Some of you don't seem to remember when this kind of slight of hand started. Well, I may not either, but I do remember that the Socreds under W.A.C. made a big deal about all the money the government owed and promised to solve it. And what he did was pass a law that put all the outstanding debt on the books of the existing crown corporations and some new ones he created. Then he claimed that B.C. was "debt free", although in point of fact not one dollar of the existing debt had been paid back.

While an auditor general existed in B.C. since around 1918 the office held no real power. This was changed in 1977 during the Barrett government and given independent powers and the mandate to report to the legislature, not the cabinet.

Since then governments of both stripes have often ignored the Auditor General's advice and not one budget of any government has conformed to the generally accepted auditing standards of the day. The current government is making things worse, not better and we are nearly back to the days of old Wacky so far as knowing what our government is actually spending and taking in.