Standing Committee on Public Accounts

What Is the Standing Committee on Public Accounts?

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts is one of a number of standing committees in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Each of these committees is composed of a small group of MPPs who examine selected matters in greater depth than is possible in sittings of the full Assembly. For more information about these committees, and for transcripts of their meetings, visit the Ontario Legislature’s website www.ola.org.

What Does the Public Accounts Committee Do?

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts reviews and holds public hearings on selected sections of the Auditor General’s Annual Report. Representatives from the relevant ministries, agencies or organizations in the broader-public sector attend these hearings. It also examines Ontario’s Public Accounts and any special reports issued by the Auditor General. Issues of interest to the Committee include the economy and efficiency of government and broader-public-sector operations, and the effectiveness of government programs in achieving their objectives. Typically, the Committee meets weekly while the Assembly is in session. You can find a more detailed description of the Committee and its work in The Standing Committee on Public Accounts of our 2023 Annual Report.

How Does the Auditor General Interact With the Public Accounts Committee?

The Auditor General attends Committee meetings to answer questions about her audit reports and to help the Committee with its work. The Committee issues Reports and recommendations based on its examinations of the Auditor General’s Annual and Special Reports, and on the province’s Public Accounts. The Auditor General also includes a summary of the Committee’s work in her Annual Report. Under the Auditor General Act, the Committee may also ask the Auditor General to examine any matter about the Public Accounts, or undertake a special assignment on its behalf.

Recent Reports From the Public Accounts Committee

In 2024 and 2023, the Committee issued reports on various Chapters of the Auditor General’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Management Special Report, 2022 Annual Report, 2021 Annual Report, 2020 Annual Report and 2019 Annual Report

• Climate Change Adaptation: Reducing Urban Flood Risk (2022)
• Highway Planning and Management (2022)
• Management of Invasive Species (2022)
• Real Estate Council of Ontario (2022)
• Ontario Energy Board: Electricity Oversight and Consumer Protection (2022)
• Conserving the Niagara Escarpment (2022)
• Outpatient Surgeries (2021)
• Criminal Court System (2019)
• Court Operations (2019)
• COVID-19 Economic Response and Supports for Businesses (2021)
• COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment Supply (2021)
• Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (2021)
• Condominium Oversight in Ontario (2020)

Archived Reports From the Public Accounts Committee

Status Reports on the Special Audit of the Financial Statements of IESO

• March 20, 2018
• April 11, 2018
• Attachment 1—Independent Auditor’s Report on the Special Financial Statement Audit of the IESO
• Attachment 2—IESO’s Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 (2017 Annual Report)
• Attachment 3—IESO’s Updated Management Letter Prepared by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario

Who Are the Members of the Public Accounts Committee?

The Committee is composed of a small group of MPPs, with each political party in the Assembly represented according to its representation in the Legislature. Current members of the Committee are:

• Chair: Tom Rakocevic New Democratic Party of Ontario, Humber River—Black Creek)
• First Vice-Chair: David Smith (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Scarborough Centre)
• Second Vice-Chair: Lee Fairclough (Ontario Liberal Party, Etobicoke—Lakeshore)
• Jessica Bell (New Democratic Party of Ontario, University—Rosedale)
• Michelle Cooper (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Eglinton—Lawrence)
• George Darouze (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Carleton)
• Jess Dixon (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Kitchener South—Hespeler)
• Mohamed Firin (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, York South—Weston)
• Bill Rosenberg (Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Algoma—Manitoulin)