A Brief History

John Lorn McDougall, a former member of Parliament, was appointed the first independent Auditor General of Canada in 1878. The job was previously performed by a government official, the deputy minister of Finance.

The Auditor General of that day had two main functions: to examine and report on past transactions and to approve or reject the issue of government cheques.

The Auditor General's annual Reports to the House of Commons in this era were weighty documents, sometimes as long as 2,400 pages! They listed every single government transaction, from the purchase of bootlaces to contracts for bridge building. These detailed records revealed a focus different from the work of the federal audit Office today. But like today, the Auditor General of the late 19^th century was expected to report on whether public money was spent the way Parliament intended.

In 1931, Parliament transferred responsibility for issuing cheques to a newly created government official, the Comptroller of the Treasury. This drew a clear line between the duties of government and the auditor: the government was responsible for collecting and distributing public funds, while the auditor was responsible for examining and reporting on how those funds were handled.

The work of the Office began to move in its current direction in the 1950s, when the Auditor General began to report on "non-productive payments". These were transactions that, while legal, provided no apparent benefits to Canadians. The reports were controversial, however, because government officials felt the Auditor General was commenting on government policy and therefore going beyond his mandate.

New legislation, the 1977 Auditor General Act, clarified and expanded the Auditor General's responsibilities. In addition to looking at the accuracy of financial statements, the Auditor General was given a broader mandate to examine how well the government managed its affairs. The new Act maintained the important principle that the Auditor General does not comment on policy choices but does examine how those policies are implemented.

In June 1994 the Auditor General Act was amended to provide for the production of up to three reports per year in addition to the annual Report.

Further amendments to the Act in December 1995 established the position of Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development within the Office of the Auditor General. Departments are required to update their strategies every three years.