Auditor General of Canada

The Auditor General of Canada (French: La vérificatrice générale du Canada[lower-alpha 1]) is an officer of the Parliament of Canada to aid accountability and oversight by conducting independent financial audits of federal government operations. These audits provide members of parliament with objective evidence to help them examine the government's activities and hold it to account.

Auditor General of Canada
La vérificatrice générale du Canada
Incumbent
Karen Hogan
since June 3 2020
AbbreviationOAG
Reports toParliament of Canada
NominatorPrime Minister of Canada
AppointerGovernor in Council
Term length10 years
non-renewable
Constituting instrumentAuditor General Act
First holder John Langton
Salary$334,500/year (Equal to that of a Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada)[1][2]
Websitewww.oag-bvg.gc.ca
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Bureau du verificauteur general du Canada
Agency overview
Formed1878
HeadquartersC.D. Howe Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Employees552
Annual budget$88 million
(2019)[3]

Karen Hogan was appointed Auditor General of Canada in June 2020.[4] She replaced interim Auditor General of Canada Sylvain Ricard.

Office

Auditors general are appointed by the governor general in council (cabinet) on advice of the House of Commons and Senate for a non-renewable term of ten years. An auditor general may only be removed for cause by the governor in council with the approval of both the House of Commons and Senate.

The auditor general's responsibilities include:

  • auditing operations of the federal and territorial governments
  • providing Parliament and the legislative assemblies with independent information, assurance, and advice regarding the stewardship of public funds[5]

On November 4, 2011, the prime minister appointed Michael Ferguson, former Auditor General of the province of New Brunswick, as Auditor General of Canada, effective November 28, 2011. Sylvain Ricard, having been previously the deputy auditor general, was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 29, 2019, to serve until a permanent replacement was selected.[6]

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc. five years in a row (2008–2012), and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine.[7]

The commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, was created by Parliament in 1995 as an aide to the AGC, and has offices within the precinct of the AGC. The commissioner is empowered under the 1995 amendments to the Auditor-General Act to receive "petitions on environmental and sustainable development matters and [to] require ministers to respond to them".[8] The petition process requires the ministry to respond in 120 days, although the process may be delayed by litigation.[8]

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada is located in the C.D. Howe Building in Ottawa.

History

The role of auditor general was introduced in 1878 and prior to the creation it was the head of the audit board (1867–1878).

In 1971, the auditor general's office hosted VII INCOSAI, the seventh triennial convention of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.[9]

List of auditors general of Canada
Auditor generalAppointed Departed
John Langton[lower-alpha 2] 18671878
John Lorn McDougall18781905
John Fraser 19051919
Edward Davenport Sutherland1919 1923
Georges Gonthier19241939
Robert Watson Sellar1940 1959
Andrew Maxwell Henderson1960 1973
James J. Macdonell19731980
Michael H. Rayner[lower-alpha 3]1980 1981
Kenneth M. Dye19811991
Denis Desautels19912001
Sheila Fraser20012011
John Wiersema[lower-alpha 4]20112011
Michael Ferguson20112019
Sylvain Ricard[lower-alpha 5]20192020
Karen Hogan[10] 2020 Incumbent

Notes
  1. Is called Le vérificateur général du Canada when a man is holding the position
  2. Held the position as Head of the Audit Board
  3. Acting
  4. Interim
  5. Interim

See also

References
  1. "Organization Profile - Office of the Auditor General of Canada".
  2. "Supreme Court of Canada - Questions and Answers". Supreme Court of Canada. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  3. "GC InfoBase - Infographic for Office of the Auditor General of Canada". www.tbs-sct.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  4. Government of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada (2007-11-15). "Who We Are". www.oag-bvg.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. Government of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada (2007-11-15). "Who We Are". www.oag-bvg.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. Office, Prime Minister's. "Prime Minister appoints interim Auditor General of Canada". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  7. "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Canada's Top 100 Employers Competition".
  8. Backgrounder on powers of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
  9. INTOSAI: 50 Years (1953-2003). Vienna: International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. 2004. p. 51.
  10. Government of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada (2007-11-15). "Who We Are". www.oag-bvg.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
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