The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, we talk about the fiscal responsibility policy but we've heard the Department of Finance say that our current spending is unsustainable. There's clearly a disconnect between making sure that the policy works. I think it is doing certain things. I know that it limits us to, you know, funding 50 percent of infrastructure through operating surplus and then we usually reach right up to the other half with debt. And I think this is actually just created a push to use P3s, because they are not part of that analysis. So I think it's having unintended consequences that are actually making us fiscally irresponsible. I think there's some huge questions about how we can create a policy to make sure that our government is fiscally responsible. We have heard just staggering numbers about all sorts of deficits and deferred maintenance and basically every one of our systems, you know, has problems. And it seems that fiscal responsibilities policy just takes none of that into account. So I think this would be a great policy to overtake an overhaul and conduct a review of, and could be a lasting legacy of this government, to make sure we are on a sustainable path. Thank you, Madam Chair.

To the motion? Member for Frame Lake.

Yes, thanks, Madam Chair. Yes, and I want to thank my colleague from Yellowknife North. He's covered off a number of my concerns, particularly with regard to P3s being used increasingly by GNWT.

But the other aspect that the report goes into, and this was found in the audit by the auditor general, was that there was overspending on capital by $32 million during 2019-20. You know, the 50 percent mark was a certain figure, and we only generated a $46 million cash operating surplus but we spent $78 million on capitals using the fiscal responsibility policy.

So even though our government failed to comply with it, there's no consequences. Nothing, except the auditor general blew the whistle on us. So that's another reason why we need to review this policy and make sure that it does really reflect the long-term sustainability, fiscal sustainability, that we should have as a government and for our residents. So I support this motion and look forward to an opportunity to revise that policy. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the comptroller general add to the financial statement discussion and analysis section of the public accounts several reporting items that are present in public accounts of other jurisdictions; specifically,

1. Population data;
2. Unemployment rates;
3. Key nonfinancial results of major sectors;
4. Variances between budget and actuals and between current and prior year actuals by revenue source;
5. Variances between budget and actuals between current and prior year actuals by expense program and object;
6. Discussion details on each liability line item; and,
7. Classification of the indicators of the financial health to one of three elements: Sustainability, flexibility, or vulnerability.

And further, that the comptroller general extend all historical charts in the financial statement discussion and analyses section of the public accounts to include ten years of data. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The motion is in order. To the motion? Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Committee conducted a review of best practices of public accounts across the jurisdiction and pulled these ones out. I would like to speak to a couple of them.

One, I really believe having ten years worth of data available from the public accounts would allow us to see these larger trends. It's just simply not really there.

Secondly, we make a number of recommendations of lining up the public accounts to the budget and the variances. There was some very odd disconnect that the public accounts are an accounting exercise done by the accountants. They don't even look at the budgets. If there's a difference in the budget, it doesn't matter to them and it doesn't inform the subsequent budget. They're done by different people, and there's just consistent areas where the budget and the public accounts don't line up. Revenue projections being one of them.

We have never predicted our revenue accurately within tens of millions of dollars. And the comptroller general will point this out, and for some reason it doesn't then make a change in the budget. We are one of the worst jurisdictions for this. We get an "F" when people review our financial transparency because our budget and our public accounting are just not aligned. Many other jurisdictions have made it work so that when the public accounts and the accountants point something up, it automatically makes a change in the corresponding main estimates. That's not occurring here. I really would like the comptroller general and the Department of Finance to get together to make that happen. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.

Thanks, Madam Chair. Although I wasn't a Member of the GOVOPS committee in the last Assembly, I do want to acknowledge that there has been some improvements made in the public accounts in the six years I've been here. There's kind of like a plain language user guide that's available now. P3 reporting has improved. I think that's also a reflection of evolving accounting standards throughout the world.

So anyways, there's a number of other recommendations that had been adopted that I just can't think of off the top of my head, but there had been some significant improvements in the public accounts over the six years I've been here. I want to acknowledge that. And I think the standing committee here has made a number of suggestions for further improvements, and I support them. Thanks, Madam Chair.

Thank you. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Yellowknife North.

Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this report within 120 days. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The motion is in order. To the motion?

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? Motion is carried.

---Carried

Thank you, committee. Do you agree that you have concluded consideration of Committee Report 23-19(2): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2018-19 and the 2019-20 public accounts?