Ask your MPP to request FAO audit of government decision’s financial impact

The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) is Ontario’s independent financial watchdog, responsible for providing the Legislative Assembly of Ontario with independent financial and economic analysis of the state of the Province’s finances, trends in the economy, and on bills and other proposals.

Both the FAO and Auditor General are independent officers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that provide financial analysis, but the FAO tends to focus more on forward-looking analysis, while the Auditor General is primarily interested in the analysis of past events and transactions.

MPPs can request the FAO do research or analysis

Upon request from a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) or committee of the Assembly, the Financial Accountability Officer may also direct the FAO to research:

• the Province’s finances and the economy; 
• the Expenditure Estimates submitted to the Legislature; or 
• the financial costs or financial benefits to the Province of any public bill or proposal, including any proposal made by the Government or any MPP. 

Financial Accountability Office of Ontario

Requests from Members or Committees should be addressed to the FAO.

Committee requests are addressed through the Clerk of the committee to the Director of Operations, Victoria Coste [email protected]

The Financial Accountability Officer Act enables the FAO to deny requests.

Example request

Ontario Liberals request FAO audit into Ford government’s alcohol expansion

After the Ford government paid the Beer Store $225M to break expanded alcohol sales The Ontario Liberal Party submitted an audit request to the FAO.

Some estimates think this could go up to $2 billion and that’s why we’re asking the FAO, the accountability officer to take a look at this, the auditor general to dig into these numbers, these numbers could actually be higher

Bonnie Crombie, Ontario Liberal Party leader

As of now, no decisions have been made. Under our office’s standard MPP request intake process, we will review, assess and then decide on whether to undertake the research request which as of now has no decision date.

Example reports

• Annual Reports
• Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services: Spending Plan Review (2024)
• Ontario Health Sector: 2023 Budget Spending Plan Review (2023)
• Housing and Homelessness Programs in Ontario (2021)
• Autism Services (2020)
• Economic and Budget Outlook, Spring 2024
• 2022-23 Interprovincial Budget Comparison
• Assessing the Economic Impact of Ontario’s Proposed Minimum Wage Increase (2017)

FAO is responsible for independent analysis of Ontario’s finances

Mandate

10 (1) The mandate of the Financial Accountability Officer is to,

(a) provide, on his or her own initiative, an independent analysis to the Assembly about the state of the Province’s finances, including the budget, and trends in the provincial and national economies; and

(b) respond to requests from members of the Assembly and committees of the Assembly to,

(i) undertake research into the Province’s finances and trends in the provincial and national economies,

(ii) undertake research into the estimates and supplementary estimates submitted to the Legislature,

(iii) undertake research into the financial costs or financial benefits to the Province of any public bill that is before the Assembly, or

(iv) undertake to estimate the financial costs or financial benefits to the Province of any proposal that relates to a matter over which the Legislature has jurisdiction, including any proposal made by the Government or by any member of the Assembly. 2013, c. 4, s. 10 (1).

Financial Accountability Officer may refuse a request

(2) The Financial Accountability Officer may in his or her discretion refuse any request by a member of the Assembly or a committee of the Assembly. 2013, c. 4, s. 10 (2).