2001 1 1 GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY BILL No. 224 of 2001

An Act respecting Government Accountability (Assented to , 2001) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows:

Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Government Accountability Act.

Interpretation 2(1) In this Act: (a) “Crown agency” means an association, board, commission, corporation, council, foundation, institution, organization or other body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, all the members of which or all of the board of management or board of directors of which: (

i) are appointed by

an Act or by the Lieutenant Governor in Council; or (ii) are, in the discharge of their duties, public officers or servants of the Crown; and includes a corporation that has at least 90% of its issued and outstanding voting shares vested in the Crown; (b) “Crown-controlled corporation” means a corporation that is not a Crown agency and that has less than 90% and more than 50% of its issued and outstanding voting shares vested in the Crown; (c) “department” means a department, secretariat, office or other similar agency of executive government and includes any Crown agency or Crown corporation for which a minister is responsible; (d) “estimates” mean the spending estimates of departments and government agencies that are reported to the Legislative Assembly; (e) “financial statements” include the following: (

i) any statements of the financial position, the results of operations and any change to the financial position of the Government of Saskatchewan; (ii) a statement of the accounting policies followed in preparing a financial statement; (iii) a comparison between the results budgeted for and the actual results; (iv) any other statement, report, schedule, account, note, explanation and information considered necessary by the Minister of Finance to give full and proper disclosure; (f) “minister” means any member of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan.

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(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may decide any question that arises as to what is to be included in the department of a minister for the purposes of this Act. Public documents 3 In this Act, if a person is required to make a document public, the person shall: (

a) lay the document before the Legislative Assembly if the Assembly is sitting at the time the document is required to be made public or, if the Assembly is not sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting; and (

b) make the document available to the general public in a reasonable manner on the date required pursuant to this Act, whether or not the document has been laid before the Legislative Assembly. Consolidated fiscal plan 4(1) The Minister of Finance shall prepare a consolidated fiscal plan for the Government of Saskatchewan for each fiscal year.

(2) The Minister of Finance shall make the consolidated fiscal plan public at the time the minister tables the estimates for that fiscal year in the Legislative Assembly.

(3) The consolidated fiscal plan for each fiscal year must include a period that includes that fiscal year and at least the two subsequent fiscal years. Specific contents of consolidated fiscal plan 5(1) A consolidated fiscal plan must include the following estimated amounts for the Government of Saskatchewan for the fiscal year: (

a) the total revenues, including a breakdown of the total revenues by source; (

b) the total expenditures, including a breakdown of the total expenditure, by source; (

c) the consolidated net revenues or expenditures; (

d) the total capital investment, including a breakdown of all capital investment by category; (

e) the consolidated surplus; (

f) the net debt including a breakdown of the liabilities and financial assets; (

g) the borrowing requirements; (

h) any other information the Minister of Finance considers appropriate.

(2) A consolidated fiscal plan must include targets for the Government of Saskatchewan for each of the subsequent fiscal years included in the plan for the following: (

a) the total revenue from all sources; (

b) the total expenditures;

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c) the consolidated net revenues or expenditures; (

d) the consolidated surplus, including the net change in capital assets; (

e) the net debt; (

f) any other information the Minister of Finance considers appropriate. Major assumptions 6 A consolidated fiscal plan must include: (

a) the major economic assumptions the Minister of Finance used in preparing the consolidated fiscal plan, including the effect the changes in the assumptions may have on the finances of the Government in the fiscal years to which the plan relates; and (

b) the anticipated economic conditions for the fiscal years to which the plan relates. Consolidated business plan 7(1) The Minister of Finance shall prepare a consolidated business plan for the Government of Saskatchewan as part of the consolidated fiscal plan for a fiscal year.

(2) A consolidated business plan must be for a period of three years that includes the fiscal year and at least the next two fiscal years.

(3) A consolidated business plan must include the following: (

a) the goals set for each of the core businesses of the Government; (

b) the measures to be used in assessing the performance of the Government for each of the core businesses; (

c) the results desired by the Government for each of the core businesses; (

d) a

summary of the business plan of each department. Multiple budgets 8(1) If the Minister of Finance tables more than one set of estimates in the Legislative Assembly in respect of a fiscal year, the Minister of Finance shall table with the second and any subsequent set of estimates a new consolidated fiscal plan or an amendment to the consolidated fiscal plan for the fiscal year. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in the case of estimates tabled in respect of interim supply. Reports on progress 9(1) The Minister of Finance shall report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council and publish the report on the accuracy of the consolidated fiscal plan for each fiscal year: (

a) with respect to the first 3 months of the fiscal year, on or before August 31 in that year; (

b) with respect to the first 6 months of the fiscal year, on or before November 30 in that year; (

c) with respect to the first 9 months of the fiscal year, on or before the last day of February in that year.

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(2) The Minister of Finance may determine the form of a report made pursuant to this section.

(3) If a report made by the Minister of Finance pursuant to this

section includes all the information that is required to be given in a quarterly fiscal report prepared pursuant to any other Act, the report prepared pursuant to this

section is deemed to be the report for the purposes of that other Act. Consolidated annual report 10(1) The Minister of Finance shall prepare and make public on or before June 30 of each year a consolidated annual report for the Province of Saskatchewan for the fiscal year ended on the preceding March 31.

(2) The consolidated annual report must include the following for each fiscal year: (

a) the consolidated financial statements of the Province of Saskatchewan; (

b) a comparison of the actual performance results and the desired results included in the business plan mentioned in subsection 7(3); (

c) a message from the Minister of Finance providing an overview of results achieved in the Government’s core businesses; and (

d) any other information the Minister of Finance considers appropriate.

(3) If the Provincial Auditor’s report pursuant to

section 12 of The Provincial Auditor Act with respect to a fiscal year is available when the Minister of Finance makes public the consolidated annual report for the fiscal year, the Minister of Finance shall include the Provincial Auditor’s report with the consolidated annual report. Minister of Finance 11(1) The Minister of Finance shall include a statement of responsibility with each consolidated fiscal plan and each consolidated annual report.

(2) A statement of responsibility must include a statement to the effect that all of the Government’s policy decisions with material economic or fiscal implications have been considered in the preparation of the consolidated fiscal plan or consolidated annual report.

(3) A statement of responsibility must be made public with the consolidated fiscal plan or consolidated annual report to which the statement relates. Non-compliance statement 12(1) If a consolidated fiscal plan or a consolidated annual report does not include all the information required pursuant to this Act, the Minister of Finance shall make public a written statement that explains any omission when the plan or report is made public.

(2) If the Minister of Finance does not make a consolidated fiscal plan or consolidated annual report public at the time required pursuant to this Act, the Minister shall make a public written statement that gives the reasons for the non- compliance.

(3) A statement pursuant to subsection (2) must be made public not more than seven days after the date on which the consolidated fiscal plan or consolidated annual report should have been made public.

2001 5 5 GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY Business plans 13(1) Every minister shall prepare a business plan for that minister’s department for each fiscal year in a form and at a time acceptable to Treasury Board.

(2) Every minister shall make public the business plan for that minister’s department for a fiscal year at the same time the Minister of Finance is required to make the consolidated fiscal plan for the fiscal year public.

(3) Each department’s business plan must include the following: (

a) the same type of information that must be included in a consolidated business plan for the Government of Saskatchewan pursuant to

section 7; (

b) a

summary of the total revenue and expenditure targets for the department; (

c) any other information that Treasury Board or the minister considers appropriate. Annual reports 14(1) Each minister must prepare and make public an annual report for the department for the fiscal year ended on the preceding March 31 in a form and at a time acceptable to Treasury Board.

(2) Each department’s annual report for a fiscal year must include the following: (

a) the same type of information that must be included in a consolidated annual report pursuant to

section 10; (

b) the financial statements of each of the components of the department as supplemental information; (

c) a

summary of expenditures under each appropriation in the department; (

d) any other information Treasury Board or the minister responsible considers appropriate.

(3) An annual report prepared in accordance with this Act and laid before the Legislative Assembly in accordance with The Tabling of Documents Act, 1991 is deemed to be an annual report that summarizes the transactions and affairs of the department for the purposes of The Tabling of Documents Act, 1991.

(4) If a minister is required to lay the financial statements of a department before the Legislative Assembly pursuant to any other Act and those financial statements are included in the department’s annual report when it is made public pursuant to this Act, the financial statements are deemed to have been laid before the Legislative Assembly for the purposes of that Act. Minister’s responsibility 15(1) Each minister must include a statement of responsibilities with his or her department’s business plan and annual report.

(2) A statement of responsibilities must include a statement that all of the Government’s and the department’s policy decisions with material economic or fiscal implications have been considered in the preparation of the department’s business plan or annual report.

(3) A statement of responsibilities must be made public with the department’s business plan or annual report to which the statement relates.

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