A long-awaited report by the Auditor General of Alberta into government travel and expenses of the Office of Premier Redford was released Thursday.
The 44 page report covered expenses from former premier Alison Redford, including travel, meals and hospitality, her use of government aircraft, and the ‘Skypalace’ – or a planned suite, reportedly for Redford, in the Edmonton Federal Building.
The report’s found Redford, and her office, used public resources inappropriately – saying they didn’t show in documents examined for the report that their travel expenses were needed, and a reasonable use of resources, “in other words economical and in support of a government business objective.”
According to the report, the Auditor General found Redford used public assets, such as aircraft from the provincial fleet, for personal and partisan purposes, and she was involved in the plan to convert space in a public building into personal living space.
“When I say not using resources appropriately, I mean not complying with policy not complying with standards and principles, in simple language, [it was] not proper, not right,” Auditor General Merwan Saher said Thursday.
The report said Redford and her office’s expense practices “have fallen short of publicly stated goals” and said an “aura of power around Premier Redford and her office and the perception that the influence of the office should not be questioned”.
In addition, the report states: “The Department of Treasury Board and Finance has not explained to Albertans why it believes the extra cost over alternatives to owning a fleet of aircraft is judged to be worthwhile.”
Redford asked for the report on March 4, 2014, the request was accepted by the Auditor General on March 7, and the scope of work was formally communicated to Premier Hancock after Redford’s resignation as premier, announced on March 19.
For the report, the Auditor General obtained travel, meal and hospitality expense documents from the Ministries of Executive Council and Intergovernmental and International Relations, for the expenses of the Office of the Premier – expenses from October 2012 to March 2014 were tested for compliance with government policies.
Over that period, the report stated total expenses for travel, meals and hospitality were $659,690.
During the audit, Redford, as well as her former chief of staff and her executive assistants, and current and former employees of the office were interviewed – they also had access to Redford’s calendar and schedule. Interviews were also conducted with employees of the Ministry of Intergovernmental and International Relations who had responsibility for organizing most out-of-province travel.
Residential suite atop the Edmonton Federal Building
As for the residential suite on the eleventh floor of the Edmonton Federal Building, the report stated the space remains – it’s still zoned as residential.
The Auditor General said plans for the suite have changed little since the original blueprint of a hotel-like suite were drawn up in 2012.
The difference is that office furniture will go into the rooms, instead of bedroom furniture.
The report stated it was the Premier’s office that requested the suite be built, and $173,000 was paid for the plans for the suite – Saher didn’t have a figure for added costs for any changes to the plan.
It’s a plan that former Infrastructure Minister and current PC Leadership candidate Ric McIver has said he ‘shut down’.
Recommendations included in the report
The report also included six recommendations, all of them surrounding the use of government aircraft.
Recommendations included the Treasury Board putting a process in place to monitor the premier’s expenses and use of government aircraft, and work out what type of oversight is needed for expenses of cabinet members.
Additional recommendations included evaluating air transportation services program periodically, and making the results public, clarifying policies for the use of aircraft, re-evaluate use of the aircraft outside of Alberta and report the costs of using government aircraft.
Government response to the report
Premier Dave Hancock released a statement in response to the report: “Governments are entrusted to put the interests of the people they serve ahead of their own, and to use public resources for public purposes only, that trust has been broken.”
Hancock said in his statement the government has accepted all six of the recommendations, and that they would be implemented immediately.
“The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta has stepped forward to reimburse government for the cost of flights which the Auditor General has determined to have been primarily for party purposes,” Hancock continued.
“As the Auditor General notes in his report, this was an audit of the expenses of Premier Redford and her office, and it would be wrong to extrapolate his findings to the public service of Alberta as a whole.”
The report was released a day after Hancock said he would ask the Minister of Justice to refer it to RCMP, Justice Minister and Solicitor General Jonathan Denis said he had done that on Thursday.
“Today I have forwarded the Auditor General’s report to the RCMP for their review and any investigation they feel appropriate,” Denis said in a statement released Thursday.
Denis said if the RCMP need legal advice on an investigation, he had brought in prosecutors with the Ontario Attorney Generals’ Office to work on the matter. “This will further ensure a fully independent investigation and remove any perception of conflict of interest.”
