NDP tables bill to strengthen Ontario AG's ability to get documents
CBC
Two New Democrat MPPs from the Greater Sudbury area have tabled a bill that would strengthen the Auditor General of Ontario's ability to request information from entities they investigate.
Sudbury MPP Jamie West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas introduced the bill in response to the trouble Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk had in obtaining privileged documents from Laurentian University.
Following the university's insolvency in February 2021, Lysyk started a value-for-money audit into its finances, and to find out what led to its poor financial standing.
In early December 2021, Lysyk said Laurentian was one of the least transparent institutions she had ever dealt with during her time as auditor general.
"We started the audit earlier in the year and it was moving slowly, but it was moving," she told the CBC News at that time.
"And then at some point there was a decision by Laurentian not to provide us privileged information."
Lysyk said her office was restricted not only from privileged information between Laurentian's lawyers and the institution, but non-privileged information as well.
"So for instance, if we needed to see emails, they had their legal counsel going through all the emails," she said. "If we wanted to talk to people, there was instruction in how they would talk to us."
In January a judge ruled Lysyk was not entitled to access Laurentian's privileged documents.
In early February Ontario's legislature used a rare tool, called a Speaker's warrant, to compel Laurentian to hand over the documents the auditor general requested.
Thanks in part to the Speaker's warrant, Lysyk published her preliminary findings on Laurentian's insolvency on April 13, 2022.
Nickel Belt MPP Gélinas said her bill will ensure the auditor general does not face similar roadblocks in the future.
"I'm thinking we should never have to go through this again," she said.
"Let's just change the law to make it absolutely clear to whichever lawyer gets hired by a university down the road, that if the auditor comes knocking, she has access to all of your documents and everybody who works for you."
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