IN THE LEDGE – Committee expects to discuss forensic audit of BC Housing

Remarks by MLAs Todd Stone and Peter Milobar yesterday (Nov. 24, 2022) during Question Period in the B.C. Legislature.

T. Stone: Well, this last week has been full of revelations about a variety of topics that are undoubtedly shocking to British Columbians. A particular theme has been a series of audits and reviews related to the mess at B.C. Housing and Atira. Some of these audit reviews have been leaked by whistleblowers. Some have been buried by government. Others are mysteriously, apparently, underway.

As important as it is to look to the future, it’s equally important to examine the past performance of government.
Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh. Members.

T. Stone: For that, we have to thank the tireless work of the Public Accounts Committee.

My question today is actually to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. Can the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee tell us what is on the agenda of the committee and if it relates to the pressing and important matters facing the people of British Columbia today?

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Shhh, Members. Members. Members will come to order.

P. Milobar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A guy could get used to this.

The Public Accounts Committee actually does have a quite lengthy meeting scheduled. We just finished finalizing that. It was originally supposed to be a three-hour meeting on February 1 to go over the Auditor General’s three-year rolling-average fiscal plans that he plans to bring forward to the committee to review and investigate.

But we also have reached out to the office of the comptroller general for that meeting. So we’ve extended it to a six-hour meeting, as well, because both the Auditor General and the comptroller general provide feedback, valuable feedback, on the scrutiny of what’s going on with spending within British Columbia.

We’ve asked for updates on the grizzly bear management plan, the commercial vehicle safety audit as well as the detection of and response to cybersecurity threats to B.C. Hydro industrial control systems.

But I would anticipate on that agenda in the discussion phase with the Auditor General and with the comptroller general…. Given the revelation from the Premier yesterday — unlike the Housing Minister on Tuesday — that there is in fact a forensic audit underway of B.C. Housing, I would fully expect that the Public Accounts Committee will be engaged with that audit, as it finalizes, and have the opportunity to scrutinize that audit with the comptroller general, the Auditor General and B.C. Housing — much as we’ve done in the past with B.C. Housing, the Auditor General and the comptroller general.

So we do look forward to the previously unannounced — no notice — forensic audit coming forward.

Source: BC Hansard