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●Follow-up reports, which review the actions taken by departments in response to previous audits.

●Audit observations, which are significant matters that are not included in the above audit reports.

Each annual report is required to be submitted to the House of Commons on or before 31 December in the year to which the report relates. Where the Auditor General proposes to make an additional report, he/she is required to send written notice to the House of Commons, and each additional report is required to be submitted to the House of Commons on the expiration of 30 days after the notice is sent (Art. 7).

4.5.6. Enforcement of findings

The Office of the Auditor General has no enforcement powers of its own. It provides information and advice to Parliament, and relies on the power of Parliament and the force of public opinion to have its recommendations adopted. In 2004, the Auditor General’s annual report identified a number of issues involving non-respect of financial controls and actions by public officials who knowingly mismanaged public funds. In response, the government announced it will review and strengthen the FAA, with a view to increasing oversight and accountability.

Notes

1.In addition to these laws, there are various tax acts as well as legislation for other statutory programmes and appropriations acts, which authorise the government to spend money or collect taxes. In 1992, the Spending Control Act was adopted to control government expenditures; it ceased to be in force in 1996. Similarly, the Debt Servicing and Reduction Act 1992 was formally repealed in 2003.

2.Although the act contributed to reduced spending, the purposes of the act may have been better achieved if the law had also focused on the revenue side of the budget (Geist, 1997; Philipps, 1997).

3.These are: 1) Does the programme serve a public interest?; 2) Is this an appropriate role for the government?; 3) Could this be done better by another level of government (provincial or municipal)?; 4) Could this be left to the private sector or volunteer sector?; 5) Could the programme be delivered more efficiently?; 6) Is it affordable?

4.The FAA provides the legal authority for establishing the Treasury Board as a Committee of the Privy Council. Article 7 defines the responsibilities of the Treasury Board for general administrative policy in the public service, public service organisation and control, financial management, including estimates, expenditures, financial commitments, accounts, procedures by which departments manage, record and account for revenues received or receivable, the review of annual and longer term expenditure plans and programmes of department, and determination of priorities with respect thereto, and personnel management in the public service including the determination of the terms and conditions of employment. In addition, the FAA provides the legal basis for the establishment of

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the Ministry of Finance, responsible for the management of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and the supervision, control and direction of all matters relating to financial affairs not by law assigned to the Treasury Board or to any minister (Arts. 14-16).

5.The new Public Service Employment Act replaces the 1967 Act, amended in 1992, of the same name. It is to be implemented in stages, through 2005. See www.parl.gc.ca/ 37/2/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-25/C-25_4/C-25_cover-E.html.

6.See Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (2002).

7.The stated purpose of the pre-budget consultations is to provide a mechanism by which citizens could make suggestions to include in the upcoming budget. The pre-budget consultations would, however, appear to have been launched primarily to educate the public about the fiscal situation and create an environment more conducive to accepting difficult budget decisions. By using Parliament as the vehicle for this, it also served the purpose of involving the opposition in discussions of fiscal policy changes.

8.This constitutional convention is common to most of Westminster countries and derives from 18th century budget practices in Great Britain where the monarch “billed” Parliament for his expenses. Parliament did not “volunteer” funds to the monarch.

9.For example, the Clark Government resigned in 1979 due to Parliament’s refusal to adopt its budget proposals. Since then, governments usually ensure that its proposals enjoy the support of Parliament before introducing them. If parliamentary support is not ensured, specific aspects of the budget may be withdrawn.

Bibliography

Blöndal, Jón (2001), “Budgeting in Canada”, OECD Journal on Budgeting Vol. 1, No. 2, OECD, Paris, pp. 39-84.

Department of Finance of Canada (2003a), Economic and Fiscal Update, Department of Finance, Ottawa, November.

Department of Finance of Canada (2003b), The Budget in Brief, Department of Finance, Ottawa.

Geist, Michael (1997), “Balanced Budget Legislation: An Assessment of the Recent Canadian Experience”, Ottawa Law Review.

IMF (International Monetary Fund) (2002), Canada: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes: Fiscal Transparency Module, IMF, Washington DC.

Kelly, Joanne (2001), “Managing the Politics of Expenditure Control: Cabinet Budget Committees in Australia and Canada, 1975 to 1999”, unpublished paper, Griffith University, Australia.

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Public Service Commission (2003b), Overview of Recent Public Service Reforms in Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, Research Directorate of the PSC, Ottawa, www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/research/world_ps/world_ps_e.pdf.

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ISSN 1608-7143

OECD Journal on Budgeting – Volume 4 – No. 3 © OECD 2004

France*

*This study has benefited from comments from: Frank Mordacq, Director of Budgetary Reform, Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry (MINEFI); Benoît Chevauchez, Institute of Public Management and Economic Development, MINEFI; Michel Bouvier, University of Paris-Sorbonne; Gabriel Montagnier, Professor Emeritus, University of Lyon 3; and Céline Allard, European Department, International Monetary Fund.