Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Committee Report was read into the record Friday, October 28th, 2022. The Standing Committee on Government Operations has reviewed the report on the 2020-2021 Public Accounts.
On December 8th, 2021, the Minister of Finance tabled the 2020-2021 Public Accounts. The public accounts are financial statements that show the financial results of the Government of the Northwest Territories for a given year. Each year, the Standing Committee on Government Operations reviews the public accounts. These reviews assess the credibility of the government's financial position and provide accountability for the government's financial results. Put differently, these reviews matter because they ask whether public money was spent prudently and as intended by the Legislative Assembly.
On June 29th, 2022, the committee held the public portion of its review. The committee received briefings from officials at the Office of the Auditor General and the Office of the Comptroller General. Their input was valuable to identify and clarify key issues.
In response, committee developed eight substantive recommendations to improve financial practices and reporting. These recommendations seek to achieve three goals:
- Understand and address NTHSSA's growing deficit;
- Enhance disclosure on environmental liabilities, resource revenues, and tangible capital assets; and
- Make fiscal reporting more timely, frequent, comparable, and digital.
The committee is pleased to submit this report to the Legislative Assembly and looks forward to its consideration. Individual Members may have comments on the report, and I would like to thank the committee and the continued work by the department to improve the public accounts and the Office of the Auditor General for all of their work on this report. Thank you, Mr. Chair.