Public trustee to be called to public accounts
MLAs want answers about how office in managed in wake of AG audit concerns
P.E.I.’s public accounts committee wants to hear from the public trustee about concerns raised by the auditor general regarding the way it is managing funds of the Island’s most vulnerable residents. During a meeting Wednesday morning, the committee unanimously passed a motion to call the trustee as a witness to answer questions about how the office is managed. Opposition MLA Darlene Compton says she is concerned about the accountability of the office in light of the concerns raised in the auditor general’s 2017 annual report.
“I’m looking at it from the client’s point of view and who advocates for the client?” Compton said during the meeting Wednesday.
“Is there checks and balances in place to ensure the public trustee is doing what’s best for the client?” Auditor general Jane MacAdam said a lack of performance reporting was, indeed, one of the deficiencies she identified in her audit, noting one of her 12 recommendations was to increase reporting to the public on the office’s activities. Committee chairman James Aylward said he felt it would be important to call the trustee in to answer detailed questions about its work and about what is being done to address the concerns raised in MacAdam’s audit.
MacAdam looked into the office of the public trustee and how it manages the $9.4 million in assets it holds in trust for 300 Islanders deemed medically incapable of making their own financial decisions.
She found significant issues with how these funds are controlled, including “inadequate management review and oversight of trust accounts.” The AG also raised concern with a lack of oversight and recording of transactions, such as receipts and disbursements from client accounts.
She found one instance where lack of oversight meant the trustee did not know a client had died 12 years ago and had been charging the dead client’s account the office’s annual fee. MacAdam made 12 recommendations for improvements. Government is now adding an additional staff member to the office and is working on technological solutions to support office transactions. The province is also looking at legislative amendments to the Public Trustee Act and developing new legislation on guardianship.