With the proclamation this week of the Public Sector Expenses Review Act, 2009, the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario assumes new responsibilities for reviewing the expenses of senior officials at 22 of the province’s largest agencies, boards and commissions.

“We have been busy preparing for this work throughout the fall,” said Acting Integrity Commissioner Lynn Morrison. “On an interim basis we have drawn on the resources and support of our colleagues in the Ontario Public Service to ensure we build a review system that is efficient, responsive and which applies the rules with consistency.”

Under the Act, the Integrity Commissioner will review the expense claims of three groups of people at each agency:
- all members of an agency’s board of directors
- the CEO and senior management team
- the top five expense claimants.

“We expect to review the expense claims of about 550 people,” said Commissioner Morrison. “We are closely monitoring this workload to ensure that we have sufficient resources to provide expense claimants with a timely review process.”

An explanation of the filing and review process and a link to the new rules can be found at the Office of the Integrity Commissioner’s website, www.oico.on.ca.

About the OIC

The Office of the Integrity Commissioner has five key responsibilities:
- Members’ Integrity
- Public service disclosure of wrongdoing (whistle-blowing)
- Expenses review for Cabinet Ministers, Opposition Leaders, and 22 of Ontario’s largest agencies
- Ministers’ staff ethical conduct
- Lobbyists registration

An Officer of the Legislative Assembly, the Integrity Commissioner is independent of government.

More information on the OIC and its work is available at www.oico.on.ca.
Ce communiqué est également disponible en français.

For more information:
Cathryn Motherwell
Communications Coordinator
Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario
416-314-7811
cathryn.motherwell@oico.on.ca