Ontario Building Smarter Government and Ensuring Accountability for Every Tax Dollar through New Office of the Comptroller General

The first province to make Comptroller General a Deputy Minister position

The Voice of Canada News:

TORONTO — Ontario is delivering on its commitment to build smarter government through the creation of an Office of the Comptroller General. The office will be tasked with identifying and mitigating potential financial and policy risks before they take hold, protecting taxpayer dollars in the process.

Enterprise risk management, a best practice in the private sector, includes forecasting and managing operational risk, enhancing internal oversight of the province’s finances and embedding respect for taxpayer money into the province’s decision-making process. The Comptroller General will lead risk management practices across government, which will include the analysis of fiscal impacts and the overall viability of policy decisions.

“Our government is committed to building a smarter, more efficient government that puts people at the centre of everything we do,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board. “Creating an Office of the Comptroller General will help the government root out potential problems before they take hold, while better protecting frontline programs. By utilizing these best practices from the private sector, we are bringing the rigour of business to the business of government.”

The first among Canadian provinces to be a Deputy Minister level position, the Office of the Comptroller General will be responsible for working with ministries and provincial agencies to provide advice, share information on effective enterprise risk management and ensure risks are properly identified and managed before public money is spent, providing increased value for the people of Ontario.

Reinforced by EY Canada in its line by line review of government spending, integrating enterprise risk management across all ministries and provincial agencies will build a culture that manages public resources responsibly while improving the government programs and services the people of Ontario depend on every day.

The Comptroller General role will align and streamline practices across government, where appropriate, to ensure a smarter, more coordinated risk management landscape. The government is also creating an Enterprise Risk Office, headed by the Chief Risk Officer, which will work under the purview of the Comptroller General to coordinate risk functions across government.

The search for a Comptroller General begins in mid-February and the successful candidate is expected to be announced in spring/summer 2020.  

The announcement of the Office of the Comptroller General is part of Ontario’s plan to Build Ontario Together by protecting core programs and services through the smarter government. Our goal is to ensure opportunity and sustainability, now and for future generations