Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Indeed, if the department sees that there is a projected deficit in any fund, then there is an immediate response back to the community to find out why this is occurring and to work with the community on a plan that would hopefully see that account balance. There is sometimes an issue around the information that is provided, and certainly if there is a breakdown in financial controls or in the financial information system in a community, it may be that the information that is provided monthly or quarterly, in fact, does not reflect the true picture and then you do get a surprise at audit time. However that is rare. It does not often happen. We would know in advance if there was an issue around the financial control or system in a municipal government. We saw a bit of a change this year where some of the communities have run into deficits around managing their canteen funds in the recreation centre. If you look at the auditor's comments, they are more around how the petty cash aspects were managed, how the actual cash accounting was managed. We are working very specifically on that issue since that seemed to be a common one, and that is what got a couple of communities into problems. It was not with the big ticket items but was with running the canteen in the rec centres. So the audit can become qualified for something that is relatively minor. A qualified audit is not necessarily an indication of a major financial problem, there is more to it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Ballantyne on Committee Motion 9-13(5): To Ensure Regular Inspections Of Fire Safety Equipment And Fire Safety Training
In the Legislative Assembly on February 9th, 1998. See this statement in context.
Committee Motion 9-13(5): To Ensure Regular Inspections Of Fire Safety Equipment And Fire Safety Training
Item 19: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
February 8th, 1998
Page 658
Ballantyne
See context to find out what was said next.