Mr. Chairman, with regard to our standing committee on public accounts report, before I get into the contents of the report, the chairman of the standing committee has just been moved over to the other side of the House. That new Member knows the contents of this particular report, and I would just like to convey to him that he knows exactly what the committee heard and how the committee acted to the number of presenters that appeared before the committee. So he has a good understanding as to what the committee expects of its civil servants.
I hope the now Executive Member can convey to his other colleagues on that side of the House what our committee really wants the government to do. Hopefully they would take our advice. Our committee is quite serious, as stated in the report.
The committee has 18 specific recommendations with regard to the Auditor General's report for the year ending 1990-91. As I indicated, the Auditor General's report was divided into six chapters: the financial issues, compliance issues, legal aid, government travel, assets management and items reported in previous years.
A number of witnesses were called to appear before us, and the committee gave a general observation about the hearing as a whole. Maybe to stress that, again, the committee this year during its hearings knew that the government was in a serious deficit situation, and we conveyed that to the managers that appeared before us. The committee also commented that we want to signal loudly and clearly that our committee has to be taken seriously, and we indicated to the public that it will meet more frequently and also will follow up on commitments made by witnesses. The committee also stated that it will insist upon co-operation and co-ordination among government departments and agencies. Our committee, Mr. Chairman, suggested that it will work more closely with our other committees here in the Legislature. Those comments from our committee have to be taken seriously.
Mr. Chairman, the first item that was reported is the Auditor General's reservation on audit opinion, I guess. The Auditor General stated the reason for the reservation. He said, and I quote: "As an independent auditor for the Auditor General of Canada cannot take sides, but has to weigh carefully all the evidence to reach an opinion, we do not disagree with the calculation of the government's claimed amount, but there is not enough audit evidence for us to conclude whether all this money will be recovered. The government has not provided for any possible loss, as it also does not know the future outcome of its claims. This is the reason for the reservation in our audit report."
Mr. Chairman, after hearing out the Auditor General's staff, we called in the deputy minister of Health and the deputy minister of Finance, and asked them to explain the reasons for the dispute. The committee understood that the issue at hand was indeed very complex. The committee had two concerns, Mr. Chairman. First, the large amount of money involved and the impact the potential loss of these funds will have on the government's overall financial situation. The committee considers the reservation to be an extremely serious matter. it reflects negatively on the accountability that government owes to the Legislative Assembly and to our territorial residents. The particular issue, the disputed amount of $32 million in health care billings, can have serious consequences for the government's whole financial position.
Motion To Accept Recommendation 1, Carried