North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice shares in salute towards work of Public Accounts Committee

British Columbian's don't hear a lot when it comes to the work of the range of Legislature committees that make for much of the work of MLA's outside of their Legislature and Constituency duties. 

But on Tuesday the work of the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts was up for some applause as Chair Peter Milobar asked for the adoption of their first report.

Mr. Milobar noting on Tuesday morning of some of the work that took place as part of the Committee's efforts.

The committee also reviewed the Auditor General's report on the financial audit work for the fiscal year 2021-2022 and approved the financial statement audit coverage plan for auditing the provincial summary financial statements over the next three years.

To further promote this ongoing accountability and improvement of public sector administration, the committee also followed up with 15 audited organizations to seek additional information regarding their progress in implementing the audit report recommendations. 

On behalf of the committee members, I would like to thank the Auditor General, Michael Pickup, and his staff for the important work that they do, as well as the comptroller general, Carl Fischer, and the many more senior public servants who appeared before the committee. 

I would also like to thank the Clerk's office for all of their support throughout, and Hansard as well, of course. 

I'd also like to express my appreciation to all the committee members, including the Deputy Chair and member for North Coast for their hard work and collaboration.

As noted by the Chair,  North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice serves as Deputy Chair to the Committee and she also offered up a few words from their work of the last number of weeks.

As a new member of the Public Accounts Committee, having joined at the beginning of this year, I'm impressed by the work that we have accomplished. 

During my short time as Deputy Chair, the committee considered reports related to mental health and substance use services for Indigenous people in B.C. correctional centres, the monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination coverage, as well as the Auditor General's financial audit work. 

I look forward to continuing the work of the committee in promoting public sector oversight and accountability in the province in this next fiscal year. 

I would like to echo the Chair's appreciation to the Office of the Auditor General, the office of the comptroller general and numerous senior public servants who took time to appear before the committee. 

I would also like to extend a thank-you to the staff from the Parliamentary Committees Office, Hansard and those who helped in the committee work.

You can review the talking points on Committee membership from the Legislature Video starting at the 11:00 AM mark.

When it comes to Committee Membership, Ms. Rice may either be the keenest volunteer in Victoria or the MLA most likely to be tapped on the shoulder for membership.

In addition to her work on the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the North Coast MLA is listed as a member of three other Committees.

Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs

Select Standing Committee on Education

Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills 

That work is in addition to her role as Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health a post she was appointed to in January of this year.

More notes from the BC Legislature can be explored here.