Mr. Speaker, all Canadians respect the Auditor General, and we on this side of the House do as well. We believe that the work of the Auditor General is very important and we are fully committed to ensuring that the necessary resources are made available to enable her to carry out her duties. In fact, a permanent increase of $11.5 million for the Auditor General's office was recently approved.
The Auditor General has stated that her current resources are sufficient to fulfill her mandate. We want to ensure that this continues to be the case for the Auditor General as well as any of the other officers of Parliament. There will be no disruption in funding to her office.
In fact, the government has increased the Auditor General's budget by 35% in the past several years. Seven separate increases have been made to the office's budget since 2000-01, including the latest approval. All funding requests by the Auditor General have been approved.
The government firmly supports the work of the Auditor General of Canada and we will ensure that she has access to all the resources she needs in order to help her carry out her important mandate.
Concerns have been raised with respect to the manner in which the budgets of officers of Parliament, including the Office of the Auditor General, are determined.
The government is conscious of the need to strike the right balance between the independence of offices of Parliament, the accountability of federal institutions and the responsibility of the government to manage public resources.
We are sensitive to any concerns with respect to the degree of independence of officers of Parliament. Indeed, no government wishes to inadvertently influence or appear to influence the substantive work of these officers.
In this regard, the government is currently reviewing financing arrangements for agents of Parliament, including associated oversight and accountability provisions. In doing so, the government is taking fully into account the particular circumstances of these agents, the views of Parliament, as well as the government's overall approach to public expenditure.