NS: Free ride is over for MLAs, says auditor general

[HALIFAX, NS] — Nova Scotia MLAs had 15 years to spend money without scrutiny. Auditor general Jacques Lapointe doubts that will ever happen again.

Lapointe admits he’s surprised by the massive fallout from his report two weeks ago on MLA expenses. His audit examined spending from 2006-09, but it had been 15 years since the Speaker’s office was last investigated.

“Over the years it just simply wouldn’t have come up. There were other priorities that were greater at the time,” Lapointe told Metro yesterday. “I don’t think that will ever happen again.”

MLA Cecil Clarke, left, and colleagues Alfie MacLeod, Chris d’Entremont, Chuck Porter and party leader Karen Casey look over the list of MLA expenses at Province House last week. Clarke says the Tories support auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s decision to conduct a forensic audit into MLA expenses. — Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax photo

Lapointe and his staff put out two reports a year — encompassing as many as 12 audits. Because government is too large to go through everything, they try to plan their audits based on “where can we make a difference, where is the greatest risk that there are weaknesses.”

Eventually they looked at the Speaker’s office and realized there were questions around expenditures that warranted investigation. That subsequent report had an explosive impact on provincial politics, leading to the resignation of one MLA and the embarrassment of many others.

Now Lapointe is conducting a forensic audit looking at whether any transactions involve criminality. He hopes to file his report in a matter of weeks.

So far all three parties have expressed support.

“We’re more than willing to co-operate in providing any information that may assist in the process,” said Tory MLA and former speaker Cecil Clarke.

Clarke said the forensic audit has MLAs wondering whether they are under investigation, but he respects Lapointe’s decision to keep quiet on the details and not say who is being looked at.

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said the government shouldn’t wait until the next auditor general’s report — or a separate report by former speaker Art Donahoe — before making changes. He said some obvious moves could be made immediately, such as requiring receipts for all MLA spending.