The Conjurer

I have been trying to understand Kinsella's statements on his website that Prime Minister Chretien personally called the Auditor General and the R.C.M.P to investigate the advertising agencies. As I understand it, it was the Auditor General office that started the audit and the investigation before Chretien even knew about it.

Having contacted the Auditor's communication department earlier in the week, I was told that the Auditor does not have to inform the Prime Minister of an audit that entails further investigation, although they would contact the PMO out of courtesy. They couldn't confirm that they contacted the R.C.M.P to request investigation into the adscam fraud allegations but did confirm they gave the R.C.M.P supporting documentation.

While I was at it, I wanted to know if the Auditor General's office had a mandate to audit the appointment of judges.

Isabel from the Auditor's Communications Department stated: "As far as they know, there is no independent review of judicial appointments at any level in Canada at this point because it is what we would refer to as a policy decision, as they [judges] are appointed by the governor in council and the Prime Minister. It's really a political decision that we don't have a mandate for."