N.S. auditor wants Tory government to withdraw bill allowing her firing without cause

Nova Scotia’s auditor general wants the provincial government to withdraw a bill that allows her to be fired without cause.

Kim Adair told reporters today the proposed changes threaten her independence and permit the government to veto the release of “any report it doesn’t like.”

An auditor can be removed with the assent of two-thirds of the legislature, but the government’s bill would drop the requirement that just cause be provided before the termination.

The bill would also give the government the power to withhold auditor general reports for reasons of public interest, public safety or legal privilege.

“The Auditor General was not consulted on the changes,” a spokesperson from the AG office told CityNews Halifax in an email. “The AG has requested to meet with government officials to understand the impact to the independence of the Office of the Auditor General and its operations.”

This comes after Adair released a damning report that called out the government for its lack of accountability on billions of dollars in spending that was not approved prior.

Adair said expenses outside the official budget process rose to $7 billion over the last decade, with the government spending $1.38 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year that wasn’t first authorized by a majority vote in the legislature. She also recommended for the third year in a row changes to the province’s Finance Act that would give more oversight to the legislature.

Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston defended the changes Wednesday, saying that they “normalize” Nova Scotia’s legislation with other provinces.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2025.