Province launches ‘fiscal sustainability’ review of Crown corporations
Posted September 26, 2017 10:09 am.
Last Updated September 26, 2017 2:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The province is set to have a look at how crown corporations and other public bodies report their finances in what the NDP government is calling a “fiscal sustainability review.”
The province is set to have a look at how crown corporations and other public bodies report their finances in what the NDP government is calling a “fiscal sustainability review.”
The province wants to know that it’s getting the best financial information possible from its crown corporations and other public bodies in the education and health sectors.
“This really is about the future,” says Finance Minister Carole James. “This isn’t about looking back. This isn’t about finding additional dollars. This making sure that we’re forecasting accurately, so that our budget can be built as accurately as possible going ahead.”
The expectation here is that this review, carried about by former deputy finance minister Chris Trumpy — will be completed before February’s budget.
“He’s been deputy minister in a number of different governments, in a number of different ministries,” says James. “This is someone who can provide us with a report that will be due in the new year. So this is a fairly quick timeline. We wanted someone who can hit the ground running, who knows these groups and organizations, who’s worked with crown corporations, and can do that overview which will be important for us.”
BC Lottery and ICBC are among the larger crown corporations coming under scrutiny.
“The report will go public after the budget is developed in February,” says James. “So the public will be able to see the kind of information and we’ll be as transparent as we can.”
