Fred Dunn told to keep away from sensitive political topics
The Alberta Conservatives are being accused of muzzling the auditor general after instructing him to stay away from sensitive political topics but Fred Dunn is adamant about sticking to his tenacious watchdog ways.
Dunn recommended last year that Alberta improve its response to climate change and create an implementation plan to ensure the province reaches its emission reduction goals. (Alberta wants to cut emissions by 14 per cent of 2005 levels by 2050.) In this year’s budget the government responded sharply to that recommendation: “Policy matters are outside the purview of the Auditor General.” Dunn who’s been on the job since 2002 was surprised by the statement. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that response” he says adding that no one from the government has spoken or written directly to him about it.
While most of Dunn’s 50 recommendations were accepted the government used the same terse response to his recommendations regarding mental health. He recommended that the province create provincial standards for mental health services and provide supportive living programs for mental health clients. “Hospitals are an expensive place to house clients” Dunn noted in his October report. “In Alberta in-patient beds in psychiatric units cost between $500 and $1500 per day.” Dunn wrote that it would be “economically beneficial” if patients were housed in the community instead.
Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald chair of the legislature’s all-party public accounts committee which is responsible for following up on the auditor general’s recommendations believes Dunn is getting the “political brush-off” for doing his job well — the latest “in a list of examples of how this government is restricting or limiting the auditor general.”
“The government should be very pleased with the recommendations he has made and yet we turn around and we find they want to shut him down.”
Earlier this year Dunn had to drop several investigations because of financial constraints and last month the public accounts committee voted down a funding increase for his office. “I don’t understand why with these very very important recommendations that the auditor has made the government would tell him to essentially butt out” says MacDonald.
The auditor general’s stated mission is to “identify opportunities and propose solutions for the improved use of public resources and to improve and add credibility to performance reporting including financial reporting to Albertans.”
Dunn hasn’t criticized the government for its unexpected warning — he’s waiting to see how the public accounts committee handles it — but he’s determined that his audit duties remain unchanged. “It doesn’t affect me or my office in any way” he says.
During question period April 14 MacDonald asked Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove why the government is brushing off Dunn’s recommendations. “The last thing we would do is brush off sound suggestions as we would brush off easily stupid questions” Snelgrove shot back. Snelgrove said Dunn has made some “very good suggestions” but defended his government’s response. “The implementation of mental health standards is clearly in the purview of policy and that will be determined by this government” he said.
Dunn however is emphatic that his office doesn’t make policy recommendations. “That is something which we clearly avoid” he says. When Dunn’s office does an audit it discusses the audit beforehand with government management and comes up with evaluation criteria that satisfy both parties. “We go through a very strenuous disciplined process and these recommendations were as a result of carrying out those audits” he says. Dunn says his office “had full acceptance by the bureaucracy” to evaluate what he did.
The public accounts committee will discuss the government’s unusual response to Dunn’s recommendations next month during budget estimates — particularly Alberta Health’s and Alberta Environment’s estimates on May 4 and 5. “We’ll definitely be bringing this up” says MacDonald. In the meantime the Liberals plan to keep grilling the Tories on the issue in the legislature. “They have no right to treat him like this” says MacDonald. “No right.”
