Edmonton – David Swann, Leader of the Official Opposition, says that an Alberta Liberal administration would give the Auditor General greater authority, with binding powers, to help clean up government. 

On a day when Premier Stelmach moved to neuter the Public Accounts Committee by giving the Tory Deputy Chair veto power over the committee’s activities, Swann is offering a very different philosophy on government transparency and accountability.

“This administration has ignored hundreds of recommendations from the Auditor General over the years – 306 at the moment, with 54 more than three years old. They’ll almost certainly ignore most of this year’s recommendations. Any government led by me would not dismiss the Auditor General; in fact, I would move to seriously strengthen the powers of that office.”

Swann says that the scandals brought to light by the Auditor General every year demonstrate the importance of independent oversight of government activities. This year the AG uncovered serious problems with information security at Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB), very reminiscent of the same kinds of issues at Alberta Health Services – issues that remain unresolved. Of the seven audits conducted by the AG this year, four showed a lack of compliance and monitoring in government departments responsible for the ATB, health and safety standards, the Solicitor General, and water quality.

“Democracy depends on checks and balances to make sure that the ruling party cannot hide corruption and incompetence,” Swann says. “It’s incredibly sad that a Premier who started out calling for more accountability and transparency has flip-flopped so completely. He’s become overly sensitive to criticism, to the point that now he’s serving only his own personal political agenda instead of the people of Alberta.”

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