Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the most important roles of Regular Members is to hold the government accountable for the use of taxpayers' money. Accountability is the basic tenant of good governance. To do this effectively, Members need objective and fact-based information. The work done by the office of the Auditor General of Canada is critical with this respect.
Mr. Speaker, reports are independent and a reliable source of information given to us by the Auditor General, but there are several other kinds of audits. The most familiar we are aware of is a financial audit where there is an examination of the department's financial transactions and practices. Another is a performance audit, otherwise known as value-for-money audit. Performance audits ask, are programs being run with due regard for economy, efficiency and environmental impact? Performance audits contain recommendations that can serve as a springboard to lasting and positive change in the public entity's function.
Performance audits of Crown corporations are especially important because Regular Members do not review the budgets and business plans of Crown corporations, as we do for other government departments. There is a lack of direct oversight on the part of elected MLAs. We need to work collectively to fix this, Mr. Speaker.
Regular performance audits could be the vehicle to ensure the Crown corporations are running efficiently and effectively with no waste to public money. Performance audits are not being done as regularly as I would like, and current financial audits do not provide the same degree or rigorous examination. I would like to see changes implemented to ensure that regular performance audits of all Crown corporations happen. I would like to see this government pass legislation called the Crown corporations accountability act that would do this. This would clearly say to the public that this Assembly is committed to regular rigorous accountability through the audit process.
We have the ability to pass laws that directly affect us. Let's pass one that shows we are committed to this process. Mr. Speaker, this is a bold process; to say we are committed to examining our books, regularly and in a fair way. We want to ensure that the public is getting the most efficient and effective government and the best management of the public purse possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause