AG Raises Concern About Crown Agency Oversight

New Brunswick’s acting auditor general is raising concerns about government oversight of Crown agencies in her latest report.

Janice Leahy found the Executive Council Office (ECO) and most agencies did not comply with legislated requirements when preparing critical documents.

Leahy’s report found some of the documents — mandate letters, annual plans and annual reports — were not issued, were submitted late, or were missing information.

“If ECO and Crown agencies do not properly prepare documents required by legislation, government and the public may not be fully informed if Crown agencies have met their mandated priorities and objectives,” Leahy said Thursday.

The Accountability and Continuous Improvement Act outlines the roles and responsibilities of ECO and Crown agencies in the oversight process.

When issuing mandate letters, which outline government expectations of Crown agencies, Leahy said ECO met five of eight content requirements, such as addressing the letters to the chair of the agency, as well as including strategic and operational direction.

But her report found that mandate letters were often issued later than they should be — or sometimes not at all. Leahy said seven of 11 Crown agencies surveyed in 2019 received their mandate letter late while three did not receive one at all.

“Not receiving mandate letters in a timely manner means that effective oversight may not be possible,” she said. “Crown agencies may not be doing what the government and New Brunswickers are expecting them to do without a mandate to do so.”

Leahy noted that ECO improved the timing of mandate letters for 2021 by issuing them five months before the fiscal year started.

The acting AG found two Crown agencies — Service New Brunswick and WorkSafeNB — did not create an annual plan in 2019, and most of them did not comply with provincial legislation. She also noted that only three agencies posted their annual plans online: NBCC, CCNB, and the Financial and Consumer Services Commission.

On the other hand, all of the Crown agencies prepared and posted their annual reports online in 2019, but Leahy still had some concerns. None of the reports fully included government priorities and objectives, and the Regional Development Corporation submitted its report later.

“We found no one is monitoring if Crown agency plans and reports comply with the requirements of the act,” said Leahy, noting the act does not address monitoring annual plans and reports for compliance.

Among her five recommendations to ECO is issuing mandate letters with sufficient time to enable Crown agencies to plan their upcoming fiscal year.

Leahy also recommends that ECO work with the responsible minister, department and agency to ensure annual plans and reports comply with legislation before they are approved.