Statement from Ontario NDP Finance Critic Catherine Fife regarding FAO Annual Report

“This isn’t the first time the FAO has called out the government for keeping facts from his office. Ontario’s independent watchdogs are there to give people the facts and cut through government spin. Kathleen Wynne is refusing to give the Financial Accountability Officer the information he needs to do his job because she’s more interested in protecting the Liberal party and her own reputation, than she is in independent, non-partisan oversight. 

The Liberal government has tried to undermine the Auditor General, they’ve fought with the Ombudsman, and they are refusing to give the FAO the information he needs to do his job.  That’s a pattern. This government has a problem with oversight and with non-partisan watchdogs.

A Premier that’s so focused on keeping secrets clearly isn’t interested in what’s best for Ontario families. This spring, I introduced legislation to ensure the FAO has the information and data they need to do their job. The Financial Accountability Office would have the same right to information as the Auditor General. People deserve so much better than Kathleen Wynne’s political opportunism. Ontarians deserve honesty, and they deserve a government that shares that priority.”