Senior N.S. official says some cabinet decisions rely on verbal advice, not documentation

A senior government official who was called to respond to a damning report by Nova Scotia's Auditor General has told the legislature's public accounts committee that cabinet doesn't always rely on written advice or documents to make decisions.

Kelliann Dean, deputy minister of the Department of Finance, told the all-party committee on Wednesday that governments sometimes rely on discussions or presentations to approve projects when faced with a "tight timeframe."

"There are times when you are working within a short deadline where it doesn't allow the same amount — or the same degree — of information to be provided necessarily in a documented form. People can come into a room and discuss an opportunity [and] make representations verbally to cabinet," Dean told the committee. "There are other ways information gets shared."

Dean later told reporters those situations were "exceptional" and "not the norm," but sometimes necessary.

"Documented information is part of that [process], but it's not always the only piece of information that's providing advice or input or provides a perspective that's being taken into consideration [by cabinet]," said Dean.

Auditor general notes shortcomings

In her most recent report, Nova Scotia's Auditor General Kim Adair was critical of the way the Houston government approved spending over and above what was budgeted. She also highlighted nearly a dozen instances where staff assessments were not done, agreements did not adequately protect public funds and the proposals did not fully consider value for money.

"With this level of spending, ($432.7 million) we would expect submission proposals to consider value for money so public funds are spent in accordance with the principles of effectiveness, economy, and efficiency," noted Adair in the report she released two weeks ago.

Dean told the committee a new "grants management policy" is now in place to provide consistency when it comes to drafting agreements with organizations that receive government money.

Opposition politicians said cabinet decisions should always be backed up with proper paperwork and adequate assessment.

Poor oversight, say critics

Liberal MLA Braedon Clark said he had "major concerns"  with the lack of cabinet documentation.

"You know, if you went and got some work at your house for $5,000, you'd get a receipt, you'd get an invoice, you'd get some kind of paper," said Clark. "And to think that this government is making decisions of millions and millions of dollars without any support on paper should be extremely concerning."

 "How do we know that money is being spent well?"

New Democrat Lisa Lachance suggested the Houston government's decision-making process harkened back to when patronage was an accepted part of running the province.

"We would like to think that we have gone from those days," said Lachance."We're supposed to be talking about results for taxpayers. We were supposed to be tracking outcomes for the money we spend, and that money is supposed to be managed in a fiscally responsible way."