BILL NO. 22

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 60th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
56 Elizabeth II, 2007

Private Member's Bill

Municipal Government Act
(amended)

Maureen MacDonald
Halifax Needham

First Reading: November 26, 2007

(Explanatory Note)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

This Bill requires the Halifax Regional Municipality to appoint, before April 1, 2008, a Municipal Auditor General and sets out the duties and responsibilities of the Municipal Auditor General.

1 Chapter 18 of the Acts of 1998, the Municipal Government Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 44 the following Sections:

44A (1) The council of the Halifax Regional Municipality shall, on or before April 1, 2008, appoint a person to be the Municipal Auditor General for the municipality who shall report to the council of the municipality and who is responsible for assisting the council in holding itself, its employees and officers accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds and the achievement of value for money in operations of the municipality.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the responsibilities of the Municipal Auditor General do not include the matters referred to in Section 42 for which the municipal auditor is responsible.

(3) In carrying out the responsibilities of the Municipal Auditor General, the Municipal Auditor General may exercise the powers and shall perform the duties as may be assigned to the Municipal Auditor General by the council of the Halifax Regional Municipality in respect of that municipality, its local boards and such municipally controlled corporations and grant recipients as the municipality may specify.

(4) The authority of the Auditor General to exercise powers and perform duties under this Section in relation to a grant recipient applies only in respect of grants received by the grant recipient directly or indirectly from the Halifax Regional Municipality, a local board or a municipally controlled corporation after the date on which this Section comes into force.

(5) The Municipal Auditor General may delegate, in writing, to any person, other than a member of the council of the Halifax Regional Municipality, any of the Municipal Auditor General's powers and duties under this Section.

(6) The Municipal Auditor General may continue to exercise the delegated powers and duties, notwithstanding the delegation.

(7) The Municipal Auditor General is not required to be an employee of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

44B (1) The Municipal Auditor General shall report annually to the council of the Halifax Regional Municipality on the activities of the Municipal Auditor General during the preceding year.

(2) The Municipal Auditor General's report must contain the information, and be in the form, required by the Minister.

(3) The annual report of the Municipal Auditor General must be filed with the council of the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Minister by July 31st in each year.

44C (1) The Halifax Regional Municipality, its local boards and the municipally-controlled corporations and grant recipients referred to in subsection 44A(3) shall give the Municipal Auditor General such information regarding their powers, duties, activities, organization, financial transactions and methods of business as the Municipal Auditor General believes to be necessary to perform the Municipal Auditor General's duties under this Section and Sections 44D and 44E.

(2) The Municipal Auditor General is entitled to have free access to all books, accounts, financial records, electronic data processing records, reports, files and all other papers, things or property belonging to or used by the Halifax Regional Municipality, the local board, the municipally-controlled corporation or the grant recipient, as the case may be, that the Municipal Auditor General believes to be necessary to perform the Municipal Auditor General's duties under this Section and Sections 44D and 44E.

(3) A disclosure to the Municipal Auditor General under subsection (1) or (2) does not constitute a waiver of solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege or settlement privilege.

44D (1) The Municipal Auditor General may examine any person on oath on any matter pertinent to an audit or examination under Sections 44C to 44E.

(2) For the purpose of an examination, the Municipal Auditor General has all the powers, privileges and immunities of a commissioner appointed pursuant to the Public Inquiries Act, and that Act applies to the examination as if it were an inquiry under that Act.

44E (1) The Municipal Auditor General and every person acting under the instructions of the Municipal Auditor General shall preserve secrecy with respect to all matters that come to their knowledge in the course of their duties under Sections 44C to 44E.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the persons required to preserve secrecy under subsection (1) shall not communicate information to another person in respect of any matter described in subsection (1) except as may be required

(a) in connection with the administration of Sections 44C to 44E, including reports made by the Municipal Auditor General, or with any proceedings under Sections 44C to 44E; or

(b) under the Criminal Code (Canada).

(3) A person required to preserve secrecy under subsection (1) shall not disclose any information or document disclosed to the Municipal Auditor General under Section 44C that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, litigation privilege or settlement privilege, unless the person has the consent of each holder of the privilege.

44F Neither the Municipal Auditor General nor any person acting under the instructions of the Municipal Auditor General is a competent or compellable witness in a civil proceeding in connection with anything done under Sections 44C to 44E.