B.C.’s ombudsperson, privacy commissioner and merit commissioner have recommended changes to require public disclosure of B.C. legislature expenses, in the wake of the suspension of the top two managers for financial irregularities.
On top of the audit being commenced this year by Auditor General Carole Bellringer, and a police investigation supervised by two special prosecutors, the changes will help in the long term, the independent officers say in a letter to Speaker Darryl Plecas released Tuesday.
“We wish to emphasize that we are making these suggestions regardless of the resolution of the status of the suspended permanent officers,” Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy, Merit Commissioner Fiona Spencer and Ombudsperson Jay Chalk say in the letter.
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Their changes are for the “corporate Legislative Assembly,” historically controlled only by the Speaker, the letter adds.
Recommendations include extending the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to the legislature, which has a $70 million budget to run MLA constituency offices and the parliament buildings, including everything from a restaurant to security to the chamber itself.
“There is no rason why the Legislative Assembly should not, in respect of its insitutional, administrative functions, be subject to the same transparency and accountability rules as the more than 2,900 public bodies across the provinces are,” the letter states.
“The executive branch of government, all local governments, universities, schools and many other institutions have complied with the access to information rules in place for more than 25 years in British Columbia. It is time for the Legislative Assembly to meet the same standards.”
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