Fair fishing

The constituency allowance spending scandal that rocked the House of Assembly in this province was a wake-up call underlining the need for greater oversight over how politicians use their funds.

If Auditor General John Noseworthy had not been allowed to do his work to the fullest of his abilities, who's to say if some politicians would not be misusing the funds made available to them for office supplies, rentals, and other services.

Mr. Noseworthy's federal counterpart, Auditor General Sheila Fraser, has requested to conduct her own audit of MP expenses. This would seem to be long overdue, as the Canadian Press reports MP expenses have not been fully audited since 1991.

Financial audits of MP expenses take place, but do not show where the money goes. The audit Ms. Fraser proposed is called a performance audit.

No doubt, having the full confidence of the Canadian population in letting them know money made available to their federal representatives is properly being spent would reflect positively on their roles in helping the country succeed.

That is why it seems all the more surprising to learn Ms. Fraser's request to conduct an audit was turned down by the Board of Internal Economy.

The nine-member board includes representatives of all parties - four Conservatives, three Liberals, and one member each from the New Democratic Party and the Bloc QuÉbÉcois.

In a news release issued last Thursday, the board said the proposed audit "would go beyond the scope of the auditor general's mandate." It also stated "control mechanisms" are already in place.

None of the board's members includes MPs from this province. Are federal representatives in Ottawa should be thankful that is the case.

Imagine how hard it would be for them to sell such a decision to citizens? There were certainly control mechanisms in place for the handling of the constituency allowance here in Newfoundland and Labrador, but it was not entirely effective - to the tune of almost $1 million.

How was that discovered - through an audit.

In an ideal world, people like to assume government is operating at its maximum efficiency. The Board of Internal Economy's decision to not allow Ms. Fraser the opportunity to look at MP expenses will certainly raise the alarms of citizens.

Reader comments to a story on the matter posted by The Beacon's sister paper The Telegram were dominated by people expressing misgivings about the decision to deny Ms. Fraser's request. As one reader put it, if there's nothing to hide, then why not allow an audit?