Nova Scotia move to allow firing of auditor general without cause described as threat

Nova Scotia’s auditor general met with the government about a new bill that would make it easier for them to fire her.

Halifax — A move by Nova Scotia’s government to allow the auditor general to be fired without cause is being described by a legal expert and the current auditor as a threat to the agency’s watchdog role.

In an email Wednesday, auditor general Kim Adair wrote that she has not been consulted on the proposed legislative changes and is concerned for “the independence of the office,” which provides oversight of government spending.

A bill tabled Tuesday would allow for dismissal of the auditor, as long as two-thirds of the legislature agreed. As it stands, just cause must be shown for an auditor general to be fired through a two-thirds vote. The Progressive Conservatives currently hold more than three-quarters of the legislature’s 55 seats.

“The cornerstone of the ability of the auditor general to do this job is independence. If you erode the independence, then you’re affecting the ability of the auditor general to do their job,” Adair wrote.

Premier Tim Houston’s government has also moved to amend the Auditor General Act to establish a two-week minimum timeline for the auditor to submit a report to the government before releasing it to the public. In addition, the bill would give the government the power to withhold auditor general reports for reasons of public interest, public safety or legal privilege.

Sheila Wildeman, a professor at Dalhousie University’s Schulich school of law, said the proposed law “subjects the (auditor’s) role to the shifting winds of political will.”

In addition, creating a vague “public interest” basis for government officials to declare auditor reports confidential “threatens to deny public access to findings and recommendations that the auditor general has concluded require public airing,” Wildeman said in an email Wednesday.

Adair has repeatedly criticized the Progressive Conservative government’s spending of billions of dollars outside the budget process and pointed out that Nova Scotia is the only province that doesn’t require extra spending to be vetted by the legislature. She said last week she would press the case for amendments to the Finance Act requiring legislature votes on the spending, “every year until it’s done.”

She has noted the unvetted spending totalled $7 billion over the last decade, with the Tories spending $1.38 billion in 2023-24 that wasn’t authorized by a majority vote.

Wildeman, who teaches administrative law, said the auditor general’s work is “fundamental to the transparency and accountability required of a functioning constitutional democracy.” She said it is essential that the auditor general be able to function free of “real or perceived government influence.”

The professor said the government’s plan poses risks to “the integrity of our democratic system of government,” but it remains unclear whether it can be challenged in the courts.

Under the existing system, the auditor general’s reports are sent in advance to the departments being investigated and officials are given a chance to respond to recommendations and raise criticisms. According to the auditor general’s office, the vast majority of recommendations are accepted by the departments and the ministers that oversee them.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson -- whose department has been the subject of auditor reports in recent years -- was asked by a reporter Wednesday if there were any reports that she wished had not been made public. She replied she wasn’t aware of any. But she added that there could be things in the future “that maybe are not in the best interest to be known publicly.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender asked Houston in the legislature Wednesday why he “would threaten the job of an independent officer of this legislature in a world full of fake news and misinformation.”

Houston replied the changes were to “just bring things in line with the way it is across the country,” and to “normalize things.”

However, Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, said in an interview Wednesday that the legal changes proposed by Nova Scotia run against efforts to create transparent, democratic government.

As of Wednesday, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador all required cause before an auditor general could be fired.

Manitoba law allows for the removal of its auditor general without cause when the legislature is sitting, if approved by a two-thirds vote. However, the province does require cause for a suspension when the legislature is not in session.

“This kind of action by a government is threatening to a watchdog and is essentially a message to toe the line or we might fire you,” Conacher said of the Nova Scotia bill.

“That’s a very Trump-like thing to do,” he said in reference to the U.S. president, who has been removing independent watchdogs in the U.S. government since he took office.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press