Public Accounts

The committee met to study the Office of the Auditor General’s departmental results report and plan, and the Bank of Canada’s financial results. Appearing were Auditor General Karen Hogan and Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes, along with Bank of Canada Chief Operating Officer Alexis Corbett and Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer Coralia Bulhoes.

Karen Hogan reported that her office completed 100 financial audits, 20 performance audits, and three special examinations in 2024–25, with a net operating cost of $132 million. She highlighted three priorities for 2026–27: delivering audits of the future using innovative technology, strengthening accountability through transparency with a new annual report and online portal tracking recommendation implementation, and empowering a future-ready workforce. Hogan noted that her office voluntarily returned $2.5 million to the government despite not being required to participate in the comprehensive expenditure review, and she called for amendments to the Auditor General Act to clarify her office’s legislative right to access information, particularly solicitor-client privileged material, citing delays caused by Crown corporations and departments citing an Ontario court decision.

Andrew Hayes elaborated on the access-to-information issue, explaining that a clear provision in the Auditor General Act specifying that sharing privileged information does not constitute a waiver of privilege would resolve delays. He noted that the office has provided suggested language to the President of the Treasury Board and the Department of Finance, and that legislative change could come through a budget implementation bill or a stand-alone bill.

Alexis Corbett explained that the Bank of Canada’s balance sheet expanded during the pandemic due to extraordinary measures, including large asset purchases funded by crediting settlement balances, which are liabilities that pay interest. She stated that when interest rates rose, the fixed interest income on assets was outpaced by rising interest costs on liabilities, leading to losses, but that the bank returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2025 and its operational capacity is unaffected. Corbett noted that the bank has implemented a strategy to match interest rates and durations on assets and liabilities to mitigate future losses.

Coralia Bulhoes detailed that the bank accumulated approximately $10 billion in losses from quantitative easing during the pandemic, but that it began generating surpluses in the second quarter of 2025. She projected that all accumulated losses will be offset by mid-2030, after which the bank will resume remittances to the receiver general. Bulhoes clarified that the losses are bookkeeping entries with no transfer of government funds, and that the bank’s projections are based on market interest rate assumptions. She declined to answer questions on monetary policy, fiscal policy impacts, or gold reserves, deferring to the governor and senior deputy governor.

Following the testimony, the committee agreed to invite the Governor of the Bank of Canada or the senior deputy governor to appear, without a specific timeline, to answer questions that the current witnesses could not address.