The Office of the Auditor General in Ontario

Variations among democratic governments are endless but a common characteristic is the way control of the public purse is exercised. This is particularly true in Westminster style legislatures based on principles of responsible government. Even in democratic states where the confidence convention does not apply governmental disarray abounds when a government is exposed for inappropriately spending funds. Too often, when trying to ‘measure’ the health of a democracy we look for indicators such as gross national product levels, mortality rates, and the extent to which individual, collective and human rights are protected. Seldom is the focus upon the sphere of fiscal spending and the level of fiscal accountability contained within a political regime when attempting to posit an evaluative analysis on any given government’s ‘worth’, health, or extent to which it is democratic. This article examines the Office of the Provincial Auditor in Ontario and its role in examining the spending of public funds. It also reviews the evolution of legislative auditing in that province and recent changes to the office’s legislation.