Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food

Review of Estimates documents

1 May 2003

John Mayne
Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to discuss with your Committee the review of Estimates documents. We are pleased that the Committee will be taking the time to review the Estimates documents of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. Such a review is important in holding the government to account for its plans and the results it has achieved. With me today is Barry Leighton, the Principal in the Office responsible for examining reporting to Parliament.

We have reported a number of times on the Estimates documents, most recently in our December 2000 Report, Chapter 19 and our April 2002 Report, Chapter 6. Many of our audit chapters also comment on how well departments report on the performance of audited programs.

Overall, we have been disappointed by the slow progress of the government in improving its reporting of plans and performance to Parliament. We found:

• Statements of intended results that were often not clear and concrete;
• Too much reporting of activities rather than results;
• Poor linking of activities to the reported outcomes;
• Little discussion of the reliability of the information reported;
• Few instances of reporting on weak performance; and
• Weak links between the financial information, and the results of programs.

In March this year, we tabled in committee and sent copies to all parliamentarians, a report on Parliamentary Committee Review of the Estimates Documents. The intent was to assist committees to undertake review of Estimates documents by describing the Estimates process and making a number of suggestions, which committees might find useful.

We are confident that the Committee's review of the Estimates documents from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and possible Committee recommendations will encourage the department to improve its reporting to Parliament.

With the Chair's permission, my colleague and I would like to take the committee through our report, setting the context for reviewing Estimates documents and highlighting key suggestions. We have a deck to structure the discussion around. During this presentation, if the Chair permits, we would encourage members to ask questions or raise points as we go along.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for this opportunity with your Committee.