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Revised Statutes of Newfoundland 1990


CHAPTER F-8

AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC REVENUE, THE RAISING OF CERTAIN LOANS AUTHORIZED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND THE AUDITING OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Analysis

1. Short title

2. Definitions

PART I
TREASURY BOARD

3. Treasury Board

4. Rules

5. Secretary and deputy

6. Functions

7. Powers

8. Application to boards

9. Regulations

10. Reports

11. Power of Lieutenant-Governor in Council

PART II
PUBLIC MONEY

12. Consolidated Revenue Fund

13. Payment into fund

14. Duty on receiving public money

15. Investments

16. Late receipts and refunds

17. Settlement of debt

18. Write-off of bad debts

19. Remission of forfeitures, etc.

PART III
PUBLIC DISBURSEMENTS

20. Comptroller General of Finance

21. Where no comptroller general

22. Charges on fund

23. Estimates

24. General warrant for expenditure

25. Appropriation accounts

26. Commitments

27. Ledger

28. Where no appropriation

29. Duty of comptroller general

30. Prohibition of expenditures

31. Contra accounts

32. Withholding money

33. Refusal to make payments

34. Advance for expenses

35. Credit of refunds

36. Where payment withheld

PART IV
PUBLIC DEBT

37. Raising of loans

38. Method

39. Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund

40. Sinking fund surplus

41. Payment of loan expenses

42. Repayment of loans by new issues

43. Appointment of agent

44. Powers of Lieutenant- Governor

45. Immunity of officers

46. Loans in foreign currencies

47. Change in form of funded debt

48. Temporary loans

49. Idem

50. Effect of recital in order

51. Disposition of proceeds

52. Authority of Legislature

53. Protection of holders of securities

54. Guaranteed securities interest

55. Power to borrow re guarantees

56. Execution of bonds, etc.

57. Regulations

PART V
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

58. Accounts of the province

59. Public Accounts

60. Tabling in House of Assembly

61. Alteration of time

62. Auditor general

63. Regulations

64. Audit of expenditures

65. Audit of public money

66. Audit of accounts

67. Reports

68. Objection to expenditures

69. Audit of other accounts

70. Pre-audit

71. Annual report

72. Auditor general may charge fees

73. Examination under oath or affirmation

74. Subpoena

75. Commission evidence

76. Failure to attend

PART VI
CIVIL LIABILITY AND PENALTIES

77. Failure to account

78. Evidence

79. Penalty for not reporting

80. Liability for loss

PART VII
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

81. Offences

82. Bribe

83. Saving or other remedies

PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS

84. Books, etc. property of the Crown

85. Oath or affirmation

86. Recovery and disposition of penalty

87. Regulations


Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Financial Administration Act.

1973 No86 s1

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Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "auditor general" means the Auditor General of Newfoundland and includes the officers and clerks acting under his or her direction and, where there is no auditor general in office, means the deputy auditor general and, in the absence of both, means an officer designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to perform the duties of the office;

(b) "board" means the Treasury Board appointed under this Act;

(c) "commitment" means an obligation arising out of an agreement between the government and another person to make payment from an appropriation of the Legislature;

(d) "comptroller general" means the Comptroller General of Finance appointed under section 20;

(e) "department" means a department of the public service of the province or other division, branch or part of the public service of the province;

(f) "fiscal agent" means a fiscal agent appointed under section 44;

(g) "fiscal year" means the period beginning on April 1 in a year and ending on March 31 in the next year;

(h) "government" means the government of the province;

(i) "minister" means the Minister of Finance;

(j) "money" includes negotiable instruments;

(k) "negotiable instrument" includes a cheque, draft, traveller's cheque, bill of exchange, money order and other similar instruments;

(l) "public body" means a board, corporation, commission or similar body, established by or under an Act to which paragraph 6(c), paragraph 7(1)(f) and paragraphs 7(2)(b) to (f), inclusive, are made to apply by order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council;

(m) "public money" means all money received, held or collected for or on behalf of the province by the minister or other public officer in his or her official capacity or a person authorized to receive, hold or collect the money, and includes

(i) all revenues of the province,

(ii) money borrowed by the province or received through the issue and sale of securities, and

(iii) money paid to the province for a special purpose;

(n) "registrar" means a registrar appointed under section 44;

(o) "regulations" means regulations made by the board or the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and

(p) "securities" means securities of the province and includes stocks, bonds, debentures, interest bearing and non-interest bearing treasury bills, notes, deposit certificates and other securities representing part of the public debt of the province.

1973 No86 s2; 1978 c48 s1; 1981 c9 s5

PART I
TREASURY BOARD

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Treasury Board

3. (1) There shall be a Treasury Board composed of not less than 7 members of the Executive Council designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, 1 of whom shall be designated as the president by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(2) The president shall preside over meetings of the board and shall in the intervals between meetings of the board exercise or perform those powers, duties or functions of the board that the board may, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, determine.

(3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may designate other members of the Executive Council to serve as alternates in the absence of members of the board.

1973 No86 s3; 1974 No108 s2

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Rules

4. The board may determine its rules and methods of procedures and shall keep a minute book in which shall be recorded the proceedings of the board.

1973 No86 s4

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Secretary and deputy

5. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint

(a) an officer called the Secretary of the Treasury Board to hold office during pleasure and to perform the duties and functions that may be assigned to him or her by the board, and the secretary shall rank as and have all the powers of a deputy head of a department; and

(b) an officer called the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Board, who, where there is no secretary or the secretary is absent, has the powers and shall perform the functions and duties of the secretary.

(2) Those other officers, clerks and employees that are necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the board shall be appointed in the manner authorized by law.

(3) The board may communicate with a department or an officer or other person through the secretary, the deputy secretary or through another employee of the board designated by the board for that purpose.

1973 No86 s5

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Functions

6. The board shall act as a committee of the Executive Council on all matters relating to

(a) the financial management of the province;

(b) administrative policy in the public service;

(c) personnel management in the public service and of a public body; and

(d) those other matters that may be referred to it in accordance with this Act, or by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1973 No86 s6

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Powers

7. (1) The board may

(a) prescribe the manner and form in which the accounts of the province and the several departments are to be kept;

(b) prescribe the manner and form in which the estimates of revenue and expenditure shall be prepared by the several departments;

(c) prescribe the manner and form in which the public accounts of the province shall be prepared;

(d) direct a person receiving, managing or disbursing public money to keep those books, records and accounts that the board considers necessary;

(e) require from a department, an office, a board, an officer or other person or body, bound by law to furnish it to the government, an account, a return, a statement, a document or information which the board considers necessary for the performance of its duties; and

(f) determine the conduct of collective bargaining negotiations within the public service and for a public body.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of another Act, the board may

(a) establish standards of discipline in the public service and prescribe the penalties that may be applied for breaches of discipline;

(b) determine the personnel requirements and provide for the allocation and effective utilization of personnel within the public service and of a public body;

(c) provide for the classification of positions within the public service and of a public body;

(d) determine the pay to which persons employed in the public service or with a public body are entitled for services rendered, the hours of work and leave of those persons and related matters;

(e) consider proposals for pensions or gratuities, other than those which are specifically provided for; and

(f) provide for those other matters, including terms and conditions of employment not otherwise specifically provided for in this subsection, that the board considers necessary for effective personnel management within the public service and of a public body.

1973 No86 s7

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Application to boards

8. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by order make paragraph 6(c), paragraph 7(1)(f) and paragraphs 7(2)(b) to (f), inclusive, apply to a board, corporation, commission or similar body, established by or under an Act, named in the order.

1973 No86 s8

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Regulations

9. Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the board may make regulations

(a) respecting the collection, management, disbursement and administration of, and accounting for, public money;

(b) respecting the retention and disposal of records;

(c) for a purpose necessary for the efficient administration of the public service; and

(d) respecting those other matters or things referred to it by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1973 No86 s9

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Reports

10. (1) The board shall report to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council upon a matter which it considers of sufficient importance to warrant this action.

(2) Where a report is made under subsection (1), a member of the board may record his or her dissent in the minutes and may submit a minority report to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1973 No86 s10

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Power of Lieutenant- Governor in Council

11. The board in the exercise of its powers, functions and duties under this or another Act is subject to a direction given to it by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by order, amend or revoke an action of the board.

1973 No86 s11

PART II
PUBLIC MONEY

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Consolidated Revenue Fund

12. All public money over which the Legislature has power of appropriation, excepting money that is otherwise specially disposed of by the Legislature, shall form a Consolidated Revenue Fund to be appropriated to the public service of the province.

1973 No86 s12

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Payment into fund

13. All public money unless otherwise provided by statute shall be paid promptly to the credit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in the manner prescribed by the board.

1973 No86 s13

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Duty on receiving public money

14. A person who collects or receives public money shall

(a) immediately deposit it to the credit of an account of the province at those places and at those times and in the manner prescribed by the board;

(b) keep a record of receipts and deposits of public money in the form and manner that the board directs;

(c) account for that public money in the manner and at the times that the board directs; and

(d) enter into and give security by bond or otherwise where so required by the board.

1973 No86 s14

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Investments

15. (1) Where he or she considers it to be in the interests of the province to do so, the minister may, on those terms and conditions that the minister considers advisable, hold all or a portion of the Consolidated Revenue Fund by way of investment

(a) in stock, debentures, bonds, treasury bills, treasury notes and other securities,

(i) issued by the Government of Canada or the government of a province of Canada, or

(ii) guaranteed by the Government of Canada or by the government of a province of Canada;

(b) in bonds, debentures or other securities issued by the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro-Electric Corporation otherwise known as the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro;

(c) in bonds, debentures or other securities issued by the City of St. John's;

(d) in deposits in a bank to which the Bank Act (Canada) applies including investments in bearer deposit notes, term deposit receipts, bankers acceptances and similar bank investment instruments;

(e) in securities unconditionally guaranteed by a chartered bank as to repayment of principal and interest;

(f) with the prior approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council in each case, in deposits in a bank situated outside Canada including investments in bearer deposit notes, term deposit receipts, bankers acceptances and similar bank investment instruments;

(g) in securities issued by

(i) the Newfoundland Municipal Financing Corporation, or

(ii) the Newfoundland Industrial Development Corporation,

where the securities are acquired in accordance with the Act governing the corporation;

(h) in securities issued or guaranteed by an investment-approved corporation where the securities are approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for investment before being acquired by the minister;

(i) in securities which are secured by collateral consisting of treasury bills, treasury notes and other securities

(i) issued by the Government of Canada or the government of a province of Canada, or

(ii) guaranteed by the Government of Canada or by the government of a province of Canada; and

(j) in securities which are secured by collateral consisting of bearer deposit notes, bankers acceptances and similar bank investment instruments

(i) issued by a chartered bank, or

(ii) guaranteed by a chartered bank as to repayment of principal and interest.

(2) In this section an "investment-approved corporation" means a company, incorporated under the laws of Canada or a province of Canada or under the laws of the United States of America or of a state of the United States

(a) the securities of which are within the highest rating category in Canada, or rated as A or higher in the United States, by at least 2 security rating institutions in Canada or the United States that are recognized as such by the investment industry in Canada or the United States;

(b) the securities of which are eligible for investment under section 86, other than paragraph (n), of the Canadian and British Insurance Companies Act (Canada); and

(c) that

(i) maintains unused bank lines of credit together with cash and marketable securities in an amount at least equal to the face value of its authorized note limit,

(ii) where the company is not a financial corporation, maintains cash together with marketable securities and no more than 75% of its accounts or like amounts receivable in an amount at least equal to its current liabilities as evidenced by its most recent published annual financial statements, or

(iii) where the company is a financial corporation, maintains cash together with marketable securities and no more than 25% of its accounts or like amounts receivable in an amount at least equal to its total current liabilities as evidenced by its most recent published annual financial statements.

(3) The minister may sell securities purchased, acquired or held under this section and the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited to the credit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(4) Fees, commissions or expenses incurred in respect of the purchase, acquisition, holding or sale of a securities under this section are a charge upon and payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1978 c48 s2; 1984 c45 s1; 1987 c29 s1

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Late receipts and refunds

16. (1) Where, within a period of 30 days following the close of a fiscal year or a further period that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may order, amounts are received from the Government of Canada in respect of that year or of a previous fiscal year, the amounts may be included in the public accounts as if they had been revenue in the fiscal year just closed.

(2) A commission, rebate or refund payable under an Act is to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and charged to the appropriate revenue but, where that source of revenue is no longer available, the payments are considered to be expenditures and shall be charged to an appropriate subhead.

(3) Notwithstanding another provision of this Act, the comptroller general may apply all or a portion of refunds received with respect to expenditures of the previous fiscal year against the expenditure of that year prior to the preparation and submission of the relevant account for audit as a preliminary to incorporation in the public accounts for that year for submission to the House of Assembly.

1973 No86 s16; 1981 c9 s5

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Settlement of debt

17. The minister may, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and to another Act, negotiate and accept a settlement of a debt or claim due or made by or on behalf of the province in full settlement of that debt or claim.

1973 No86 s17

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Write-off of bad debts

18. Where a debt or fine due to the Crown becomes irrecoverable or only partially recoverable or a reduction in the value of government stores is occasioned through loss or depreciation or from another cause, the board may direct the compromise or remission of the debt or fine that seems equitable to it and direct that the deficit shall be written off.

1973 No86 s18

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Remission of forfeitures, etc.

19. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, where he or she considers it right and conducive to the public good, remit a duty, tax, toll or fine payable to the Crown, imposed or authorized to be imposed by an Act, or a fine, forfeiture or pecuniary penalty imposed or authorized to be imposed by an Act for a contravention of the laws relating to the collection of public money or to the management of a public work producing toll or revenue, even though a part of the fine, forfeiture or penalty is given by law to the informer or prosecutor or to another person.

(2) The remission may be total or partial, conditional or unconditional, and may be granted either before or after or pending a suit or proceeding for the recovery of the duty, tax, fine, toll, penalty or forfeiture, and either before or after a payment of it has been made or enforced by process or execution.

(3) The remission may be exercised by forbearance from instituting an action or proceeding for the recovery of the duty, tax, fine, toll, penalty or forfeiture, or where an action or proceeding has been already instituted, then by delay, stay or discontinuance of the action or proceeding or by the forbearance to enforce or by the stay or abandonment of an execution or process upon a judgment or by the entry of satisfaction upon a judgment or by the refund of a sum of money paid to the minister for the duty, tax, fine, toll, penalty or forfeiture, or where payment has been enforced by an execution or process upon a judgment as previously stated.

(4) Where the remission is conditional, the condition, where accepted by the person to whom the remission is accorded, shall be lawful and valid and the performance of it or the remission only where unconditional shall have the same effect as if the remission had been made after the duty, tax, fine, toll, penalty or forfeiture had been sued for and recovered; and where the condition is not performed it may be enforced or all proceedings may be had as if there had been no remission.

(5) A remission shall not be made in a case unless the case has been considered and the remission, whether total or partial, conditional or unconditional, has been recommended by the board and sanctioned and ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(6) Where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council directs that the whole or a part of a penalty imposed by law relating to public money or a fine imposed or authorized to be imposed by an Act be remitted or refunded to the offender, the remission or refund shall have the effect of a pardon for the offence for which the penalty or fine is incurred.

1973 No86 s19

PART III
PUBLIC DISBURSEMENTS

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Comptroller General of Finance

20. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor may for the purpose of maintaining more complete control over the administration of the Consolidated Revenue Fund appoint an officer under the Great Seal of Newfoundland, who shall be called the Comptroller General of Finance.

(2) The comptroller general shall discharge the duties assigned to him or her by this Act and those other duties that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may assign.

(3) The comptroller general or a person acting under the direction of the comptroller general has free access to the books, accounts, files, documents or other records of a department, and is entitled to require and receive from the officers, clerks or employees of the public service the information and explanations that he or she considers necessary for the proper performance of his or her duties.

(4) The comptroller general shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund an annual salary to be fixed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council by regulations made under subsection 87(1).

(5) The comptroller general holds office during good behaviour until he or she attains the age of 65 years but is removable by the Lieutenant-Governor on address of the House of Assembly.

(6) The comptroller general shall have those leave and pension rights that are awarded to civil servants under the provisions of the Civil Service Act and the Public Service Pensions Act.

1973 No86 s20; 1974 No88 s2; 1981 c9 ss1 & 5

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Where no comptroller general

21. Where there is no comptroller general or where the comptroller general is absent, an assistant comptroller general, or an officer or clerk designated by name or office by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, has the powers and shall perform the duties of the comptroller general.

1973 No86 s21; 1981 c9 ss2&5

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Charges on fund

22. No issue of public money shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund except under authority of the Legislature, except that

(a) issues of public money received for special purposes or in trust may be made for the express purposes for which the money was received without further legislative authority than the provisions of this paragraph, subject however to the provisions of a particular statute dealing with that special or trust money;

(b) issues may be made for the service of the public debt by way of interest payments and the redemption of loans;

(c) issues may be made in accordance with sections 15, 38, 41, 42 and 44, regulations made under section 57 and all other provisions of this Act authorizing those issues;

(d) issues may be made in respect of the annual salaries of the comptroller general and of the auditor general; and

(e) issues may be made to pay all pensions and gratuities authorized by or under a statute, whether or not the statute authorizing the pension or gratuity provides for the payment of it out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1973 No86 s22; 1981 c9 s5

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Estimates

23. (1) All estimates of expenditure submitted to the House of Assembly shall be for all goods and services coming in the course of payment during the fiscal year to which the estimates relate and all balances of appropriations remaining unexpended at the close of a fiscal year shall lapse and be written off.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), invoices or accounts for goods supplied or services rendered during the then expiring fiscal year shall be charged to and form part of the expenditure of that fiscal year where

(a) the invoices or accounts are received by the comptroller general for payment in the then expiring fiscal year or within 30 days after the expiration of that fiscal year or within another period that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may order; and

(b) there is a balance at the credit of the appropriation authorized for the payment of the goods supplied or services rendered for that fiscal year.

(3) The total amount appropriated by the Legislature, the expenditure of which has been assigned to a particular department, shall be referred to as the "Head of Expenditure" of that department.

(4) The Head of Expenditure of each department shall be divided in the manner that the board may direct and the divisions shall be referred to as subheads of the Head of Expenditure and shall be exhibited in the estimates for each fiscal year.

(5) The board may from time to time make those divisions of the subheads of a Head of Expenditure that it considers necessary and the divisions shall be referred to as subdivisions of the subheads of the Head of Expenditure and may, where practical, be exhibited in the estimates for each fiscal year.

1973 No86 s24; 1984 c45 s2

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General warrant for expenditure

24. Where a sum of money has been granted to the Crown by an Act to defray expenses of a part of the public service, the Lieutenant-Governor may under his or her signature, countersigned by a member of the board other than the minister, authorize and require the minister to issue out of the money appropriated for defraying the expenses of that service and in his or her hands the sums required from time to time to defray those expenses, not exceeding the sum voted or granted.

1973 No86 s25

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Appropriation accounts

25. (1) Where a sum of money has been granted to the Crown by an Act to defray expenses of the public service, as soon as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has issued his or her warrant authorizing the payment of those sums that are required to defray those expenses and the expenditure of those sums has been assigned to the several departments, the comptroller general shall credit the appropriation accounts maintained in his or her office with the amounts of the appropriations so authorized to be expended.

(2) At the commencement of each fiscal year there shall be entered against each Head of Expenditure all unpaid balances of contractual obligations or commitments originating in previous fiscal years.

(3) All issues of public money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall be made, under the direction and control of the comptroller general, by cheque or other similar instrument as the board may from time to time direct but no issue shall be made in excess of an appropriation authorized by the Legislature or by special warrant, and those cheques or other instruments shall be in the form and authorized in the manner that the board may direct.

(4) Every application of a department for an issue of public money to defray the expenses of the services coming under its control shall be in the form, accompanied by the documents and certified in the manner that the comptroller general may require.

(5) Except as provided in this Act, no issue of public money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall be made unless the comptroller general or an officer designated by the comptroller general has certified that there is a balance available in the appropriation authorized by the Legislature for the specified services.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in an Act, it is a condition of every contract providing for the payment of money by the Crown that payment under the contract is subject to there being an appropriation for the particular goods or services for the fiscal year in which payment under that contract falls due.

(7) The comptroller general shall prepare and forward to the auditor general a statement of all issues of public money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, together with supporting accounts at those times that the auditor general may reasonably require.

1973 No86 s26; 1978 c48 s4; 1981 c9 s5

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Commitments

26. (1) Each deputy minister or other officer charged with the administration of a Head of Expenditure or a subhead of expenditure shall notify the comptroller general of a commitment chargeable against that Head of Expenditure or subhead of expenditure.

(2) A deputy minister or other officer charged with the administration of a Head of Expenditure or a subhead of expenditure shall not enter into a commitment unless an appropriation exists or is in a sufficient amount to meet the commitment.

(3) The comptroller general shall except in cases described in subsection (4) report to the board a commitment for which there is no or insufficient appropriation of the Legislature.

(4) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the written recommendation of the board, authorize an agreement to be entered into for the purchase of goods or services to be delivered in a subsequent fiscal year so long as

(a) the payment resulting from the agreement is due in a subsequent fiscal year; and

(b) the minister or the deputy minister or other officer charged with the administration of the relevant Head of Expenditure or subhead of expenditure reports that it is, in the opinion of that person, necessary to make the agreement at that time.

(5) Where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council authorizes an agreement under subsection (4), all relevant documents, including the amount involved and the reasons for the agreement, shall be

(a) tabled in the House of Assembly within 3 days of the authorization or where the House of Assembly is not then sitting, on 1 of the 1st 15 days that the House of Assembly is next sitting; and

(b) included in the estimates of expenditure submitted to the House of Assembly for the fiscal year in which the payment is due.

(6) In this section, "other officer" means an officer of the government of the province or the House of Assembly as prescribed by statute or by order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1978 c48 s4.1; 1981 c9 s3; 1984 c45 s3

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Ledger

27. (1) The comptroller general shall keep a ledger in which shall be entered the departmental appropriations by Heads of Expenditure and by subheads and subdivisions in accordance with the subhead and subdivision allocations exhibited in the estimates for the fiscal year concerned, as amended in accordance with this Act, against which shall be charged all authorized expenditures.

(2) The comptroller general shall establish and maintain a record of commitments chargeable to each appropriation in the form that the board may prescribe.

(3) The comptroller general shall furnish to each deputy minister or other officer charged with the administration of a Head of Expenditure a statement of the charges entered against the Head of Expenditure or a subhead or subdivision of a Head of Expenditure and those statements shall be furnished at those periods that the deputy minister may reasonably require and shall show the charges made during the report period together with the balances at the credit of the Head of Expenditure or subheads or subdivisions at the end of each period concerned.

(4) When a subhead or a subdivision is exhausted, the comptroller general shall at once notify the deputy minister concerned and the comptroller general shall not sanction a further charge to be entered against that subhead or subdivision except as provided in this Act.

1973 No86 s27; 1981 c9 s5

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Where no appropriation

28. (1) Where the money provided by the Legislature and allocated as a subhead or subdivision has been expended or commitments have been incurred which will take up the whole of that money, a department may, with the prior consent in writing of the board, where countervailing savings can be effected from other subheads of its Head of Expenditure, apply those savings to meet the excess expenditure, whether or not the Legislature is in session.

(2) Where the sum appropriated by the Legislature for a continuing service is insufficient to meet the requirements of that service during the year for which the appropriation has been made, then, upon the report of the minister that there is insufficient legislative provision and that no countervailing savings are available from other subheads of the Head of Expenditure concerned and upon the report of the minister having charge of the service in question that the necessity is urgent, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation in writing of the board, order that a special warrant be prepared for signature by the Lieutenant-Governor for the issue of the amount estimated to be required, and the amount shall be added to the Head of Expenditure.

(3) Where, when the Legislature is not in session, or when the House of Assembly has been adjourned for more than 30 days, an expenditure not foreseen and not provided for by the Legislature in respect of a new service is urgently and immediately required for the public good, then, upon the report of the minister that there is no legislative provision and of the minister having charge of the new service in question that in his or her opinion the necessity is urgent, giving reasons for the opinion, and that where the expenditure is not made, grave damage to the interests of the Crown or the public will result from delaying the expenditure until the necessary legislative provision has been made, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation in writing of the board, order

(a) that a special warrant be prepared for signature by the Lieutenant-Governor for the issue of the amount estimated to be required, and an additional subhead be set up in the books of the comptroller general against which expenditure on the new service shall be charged; or

(b) where countervailing savings are available from other subheads of the Head of Expenditure concerned, that an additional subhead be set up in the books of the comptroller general to which those countervailing savings can be transferred and against which expenditures on the new service shall be charged, and where the countervailing savings are less than the amount estimated to be required that a special warrant be prepared for signature by the Lieutenant-Governor for the issue of an amount equal to the difference between the countervailing savings and the estimated amount, and that amount shall be added to the additional subhead of the relevant Head of Expenditure.

(4) Each Minute of Council authorizing

(a) a special warrant;

(b) the creation of an additional subhead of a Head of Expenditure to which countervailing savings can be transferred; or

(c) the creation of an additional subhead to which countervailing savings can be transferred and a special warrant,

shall quote the special reasons for doing so, and a certified copy of the Minute of Council shall, together with certified copies of the reports referred to in subsection (2) or (3), the recommendation of the board and the special warrant, where issued, be tabled in the House of Assembly,

(d) in the case of a special warrant issued under subsection (2) while the Legislature is in session, within 3 days of the issue of the special warrant; or

(e) in all other cases, within 15 days from the opening of the next ensuing session.

1973 No86 s28; 1981 c9 s5

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Duty of comptroller general

29. The comptroller general shall ensure that no payment of public money is made

(a) for which there is no legislative appropriation;

(b) for which no other appropriation has been provided under this Act;

(c) which is in excess of an appropriation; or

(d) which is in excess of sums that may have been deposited with the government in trust for a person,

and the comptroller general shall report to the board a case which comes to his or her notice in which liability has been incurred by a minister, deputy minister or other officer or person which contravenes this Act and the board may take whatever action in the matter that it considers necessary.

1973 No86 s29; 1978 c48 s5; 1981 c9 s5

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Prohibition of expenditures

30. (1) No application for payment out of public money shall be made

(a) for the performance of work, the supply of goods or the rendering of services, whether under contract or not, in connection with a part of the public service, unless, in addition to any other voucher or certificate that is required, the appropriate deputy minister, or another authorized person, certifies

(i) that the work has been performed, the goods supplied or the service rendered and that the price charged is according to contract, or where not specified by contract, is reasonable, or

(ii) where a payment is to be made before the completion of the work, delivery of the goods or rendering of the service that the payment is in accordance with the contract; or

(b) for expenses incurred by persons while travelling on government business, unless the person who has incurred the expenses certifies that the expenses were incurred on government business and are in accordance with the rates, amounts and allowances prescribed by the board.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the government may pay interest on overdue accounts under subsection (4).

(3) The comptroller general shall see that no cheque is issued in respect of applications received from departments covering expenditures which contravene this section, but should a cheque be issued in respect of an application which by the audit of the auditor general or otherwise is subsequently discovered to contravene this section, the fact that the expenditures referred to in the application were paid by a cheque issued by the comptroller general shall not relieve the responsibility of the deputy minister of the department concerned to provide evidence satisfactory to the board that the expenditure concerned was necessary in the public interest, and where the board is not satisfied that that is the case the board may require him or her to make good the amount irregularly expended.

(4) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the payment of interest on overdue accounts, including regulations

(a) prescribing the rate of interest that may be paid on overdue accounts;

(b) respecting the terms and conditions on which interest may be paid on overdue accounts; and

(c) excluding from the operation of this subsection certain classes of overdue accounts.

1973 No86 s30; 1980 c20 s1; 1981 c9 s5

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Contra accounts

31. (1) Where an officer in a department dealing with a claim against the Crown knows that the claimant is in arrears in respect of a debt due to the Crown, whether the indebtedness is of record in the department in which the officer is employed or not, the officer shall ensure that an application made to the comptroller general for the issue of public money to that claimant is clearly annotated so that the comptroller general may take those steps that appear to him or her to be necessary to effect recovery, including the application of all or part of the payment in question towards the liquidation of the claimant's indebtedness.

(2) The comptroller general may recover an overpayment made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for salary, wages, pay, gratuities, allowances or pensions out of a sum of money that may be due or payable by the province to the person to whom the overpayment was made.

(3) Where this section conflicts with the provisions of the Public Officials Garnishee Act, this section prevails.

1973 No86 s31; 1981 c9 s5; 1982 c9 s1

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Withholding money

32. (1) Where

(a) the Crown commences an action or makes a counterclaim for money as a debt due the Crown or where there is a criminal charge in relation to money of or due the Crown; and

(b) the person against whom that action is commenced or counterclaim is made claims an amount of money from the Crown,

the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may order that of the amount claimed against the Crown by that person, an amount not greater than the amount claimed by the Crown may be held by the Crown until final disposition by the courts of the action or counterclaim.

(2) The Crown may hold money under subsection (1) notwithstanding the provisions of the Public Service Pensions Act.

1981 c9 s4

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Refusal to make payments

33. (1) Where the comptroller general declines to issue public money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund on the ground that the money is not justly due or that it is in excess of the authority granted by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council or that there is no legislative authority, or where the comptroller general is in disagreement with the deputy head of a department charged with the administration of a particular service as to the state of the unencumbered balance of the appropriation authorized for that service, or where the auditor general objects, then upon a report of the case being submitted to the board, the board shall be the judge of the sufficiency of the objections and may sustain them or order payment to be made.

(2) The comptroller general shall prepare a statement together with copies of all relevant documents, relating to all issues made over his or her protest and of all expenditures incurred in consequence of those issues.

(3) The comptroller general shall deliver the statement to the minister, and the minister shall present the statement to the House of Assembly not later than the 15th day of the next ensuing session.

1973 No86 s32; 1981 c9 s5

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Advance for expenses

34. (1) Subject to the regulations, the comptroller general may advance money to a member of the public service or other person employed upon the public business for the purpose of disbursement upon travelling or other necessary expenses, where the expenses when incurred are properly chargeable to an available appropriation.

(2) Notwithstanding section 30, but subject to the regulations, the comptroller general may advance money where an immediate cash settlement is required to a member of the public service or other person employed upon the public business for the purpose of paying for work performed, goods supplied or services rendered in connection with a part of the public service, provided that the expenses are properly chargeable to an available appropriation when incurred.

(3) An advance or portion of an advance referred to in this section that is not repaid or accounted for in accordance with the regulations may be recovered by the comptroller general out of money payable by the province to the person who received the advance.

1973 No86 s33; 1981 c9 s5; 1987 c29 s2;
1988 c54 s13

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Credit of refunds

35. (1) Where a refund or repayment of an expenditure is received in the same fiscal year in which the appropriation was made against which the expenditure was charged, the refund or repayment is to be credited to that appropriation.

(2) Where a refund or repayment of an expenditure is received in a year other than the fiscal year in which the appropriation was made, against which the expenditure was charged, the refund or repayment is revenue in the year in which it is received.

1973 No86 s34

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Where payment withheld

36. Where a payment under a contract is withheld to ensure the performance of the contract, the payment may, subject to this Act, be charged to the appropriation for that contract, and the amount so charged may be credited to a special account in the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be paid out in accordance with the contract under the regulations.

1973 No86 s35

PART IV
PUBLIC DEBT

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Raising of loans

37. No money shall be raised by way of loan by the province except under this or some other Act of the Legislature.

1973 No86 s36

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Method

38. (1) Where in an Act authority is given to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to raise by way of loan a sum of money, unless there is some provision to the contrary in the Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may raise that money by the issue and sale of securities in a form, at a price, whether at par value or less or more than par value, at a rate of interest and upon those other terms and conditions that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may approve, and the principal amount of and interest on all securities so issued and sold is a charge on and shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(2) On authorizing an issue of securities, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may provide for the creation of a sinking fund amounting to the sum that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council approves with respect to the issue.

(3) Money in a sinking fund created with respect to securities may be invested in bonds, debentures or other securities

(a) of the Government of Canada or of a province of Canada;

(b) the payment of which is guaranteed by the Government of Canada or by the government of a province of Canada;

(c) guaranteed by a chartered bank;

(d) of a chartered bank;

(e) of a company incorporated under the Corporations Act to hold title to a building in the province which is leased to the government, where all of the shares of the company are held by or on behalf of the government;

(f) secured by collateral consisting of treasury bills, treasury notes and other securities

(i) issued by the Government of Canada or the government of a province of Canada, or

(ii) guaranteed by the Government of Canada or by the government of a province of Canada; or

(g) secured by collateral consisting of bearer deposit notes, bankers acceptances and similar bank investment instruments

(i) issued by a chartered bank, or

(ii) guaranteed by a chartered bank as to repayment of principal and interest,

and where bonds, debentures or other securities of a company referred to in paragraph (e) are acquired with money from that sinking fund, the government shall not part with the ownership of the shares of that company until all securities so acquired have been redeemed by the company.

(4) Securities of the province acquired with money from a sinking fund established with respect to those securities may be cancelled, but where they are cancelled, no others shall be issued in substitution for those securities and the aggregate amount of the issue in question shall be reduced accordingly.

(5) Interest earned on a sinking fund shall be applied for the benefit of that sinking fund and the holders of the securities secured by it.

(6) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, securities issued in respect of a loan may contain provisions for the redemption before maturity of all or any of those securities either with or without premium, and a premium payable on redemption shall be a charge on and paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(7) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may approve the issue of securities in any currency or partly in 1 currency, and partly in another or other currencies, and may approve a change in the currency or currencies during the life of the loan, where this is agreeable to the lender, and the securities shall be paid in the designated currency at maturity and the Canadian equivalent of that currency shall be a charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(8) Where a statute giving authority to raise money by way of loan prescribes the rate of interest or maximum rate of interest on the loan, that rate of interest or maximum rate of interest shall be considered to be the rate of interest to be stated or the maximum rate of interest which may be stated in the securities to be issued notwithstanding that the securities issued are sold for less or more than their par value.

(9) The minister, or another person designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for that purpose, may enter into those contracts or agreements relating to the borrowing of money or the issue or sale of securities relating to the borrowing of money that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may approve.

(10) The contracts and agreements referred to in subsection (9) may include forward exchange contracts, currency exchange contracts and interest exchange contracts.

1973 No86 s37; 1984 c45 s4; 1987 c29 s3

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Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund

39. (1) For the more convenient administration of the sinking funds of the province, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the minister, may, notwithstanding section 38 or an Act of the Legislature, from time to time direct that any or all of the sinking funds together with all money provided or paid from time to time for their respective creation and maintenance and all securities representing the investment of money comprised in the sinking funds be consolidated into 1 sinking fund to be known as the "Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund", for the purpose of retiring the public debt of the province at maturity.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations or provisions providing for the repayment of every loan forming part of the public debt of the province, including the liability of the province under a guarantee of securities, the sinking fund of which is consolidated into the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund under this section, by paying out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund amounts sufficient for the maintenance of the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund, and providing for the investment from time to time of the amount of the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund or a part of the fund.

(3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may direct and authorize the trustee appointed to manage, control and operate the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund to make provision for the creation and maintenance of a consolidated bank account for the receipt and disbursement of sinking fund money, providing always for the requirements of the sinking fund of every debt obligation.

(4) The expenses incurred in the management and operation of the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund shall be paid out of the interest earned from the investments held by the fund subject to the approval of the trustee as to the amount of the expenses.

(5) Upon the approval of the minister, the trustee may sell securities held by the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund under section 38.

1975-76 No77 s1; 1984 c45 s5

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Sinking fund surplus

40. Notwithstanding sections 38 and 39, where money in a sinking fund or in the Newfoundland Government Sinking Fund in respect of an issue of securities is, at the maturity of that issue, in excess of the amount of money required to redeem the issue of securities, the excess amount of money in the sinking fund shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1988 c50 s1

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Payment of loan expenses

41. All money required to provide and maintain a sinking fund or other means securing repayment of securities, for the remuneration and compensation of registrars and fiscal agents and, subject to section 51, all costs, expenses and charges incurred in the negotiation or raising of loans or in the issue, redemption, servicing, payment and management of a loan and securities issued in respect of that loan, shall be a charge on and be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1973 No86 s38

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Repayment of loans by new issues

42. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may raise, by way of loan in the manner prescribed in subsection 38(1), the sum of money that may be required to repay, renew or refund in whole or in part securities issued under the authority of this or another Act, whether or not the raising of the loan may have the effect of increasing the amount of the public debt or of extending the term of years prescribed in the Act authorizing the issue of the securities proposed to be repaid, renewed or refunded.

(2) A sum raised under the authority of subsection (1) shall be applied to repay, renew or refund the securities for the repayment, renewal or refunding of which the sum was raised without a further appropriation than is provided by this Act.

1973 No86 s39

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Appointment of agent

43. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint the minister or another person as the agent of the government for the purpose of negotiating a loan authorized by an Act, and the minister or other appointed person may arrange all details and do, transact and execute the deeds, matters and things that may be required during the conduct of negotiations for the purpose of placing the loan.

1973 No86 s40

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Powers of Lieutenant-Governor

44. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may

(a) appoint 1 or more registrars to perform the services in respect of the registration of securities that he or she prescribes;

(b) appoint 1 or more fiscal agents to perform the services in respect of loans that he or she prescribes;

(c) prescribe the duties of registrars and fiscal agents;

(d) fix the remuneration or compensation of a registrar or fiscal agent;

(e) appoint trustees to manage, control and operate sinking funds created under this Act, prescribe their duties and authorize them to invest sinking fund money in accordance with subsection 38(3); and

(f) empower a fiscal agent appointed under paragraph (b) or a trustee appointed under paragraph (e) to accept service of process, issued by a court or other tribunal in any country, arising out of or incidental to securities issued to secure a loan raised under this or another Act and sold or outstanding in the country concerned.

(2) Every registrar and fiscal agent shall as often as required by the minister give to the minister an accounting in the form and containing the information that the minister may prescribe of all his or her transactions as registrar or fiscal agent.

1973 No86 s41; 1974 No88 s3

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Immunity of officers

45. An officer or person employed in the inscription, registration, transfer, management or redemption of securities, or in the payment of interest on securities, is not bound to see to the execution of a trust, expressed or implied, to which those securities are subject, or is liable in any way to a person for anything so done by him or her in accordance with the regulations.

1973 No86 s42

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Loans in foreign currencies

46. (1) Where an Act, passed before or after May 1, 1973, authorizes the raising by way of loan a specific or maximum number of dollars by the issue and sale of securities, where the amount of the loan is raised, in whole or in part, by the issue and sale of securities payable in the currency of a country other than Canada, the Act authorizes the raising of an equivalent amount in that other currency calculated in accordance with the nominal rate of exchange between the Canadian dollar and that currency as of any time on the business day next preceding the day on which the Lieutenant-Governor in Council authorizes the issue of the securities as that nominal rate is determined by a chartered bank in Canada.

(2) For the purpose of a loan raised under this or another Act, the principal amount of securities previously issued or authorized to be issued, payable in a currency of a country other than Canada, shall be considered to be the equivalent of the amount in Canadian dollars as calculated in accordance with subsection (1).

(3) The minister, or a departmental official designated in writing by the minister, may enter into contracts or agreements for the purchase or sale of foreign currencies, on a current or future delivery basis, for the purpose of paying interest, principal or premiums on outstanding debt payable in that foreign currency.

1974 No88 s4; 1987 c29 s4

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Change in form of funded debt

47. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, as the interests of the public service require, change the form of a part of the then existing funded debt of the province, including securities for which the province is liable, by substituting 1 class of the securities for another, where neither the capital of the debt nor the annual charge for interest is increased by the change.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where securities bearing a lower rate of interest are substituted for securities bearing a higher rate of interest the amount of the capital may be increased by an amount not exceeding the difference between the then present value of the security bearing the higher rate of interest and that of the security substituted for it.

1973 No86 s43

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Temporary loans

48. (1) Subject to those terms and conditions that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may prescribe, the minister may raise by temporary loans

(a) in the manner and form;

(b) in the amounts;

(c) for the period, not exceeding 1 year;

(d) at the rates of interest; and

(e) on the conditions, including conditions relating to discounts, premiums, charges and commissions,

that the minister may determine, sums which may be necessary to meet the exigencies of the public service.

(2) The aggregate of all outstanding amounts raised by temporary loans under this section shall not at any time exceed the sum that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may from time to time determine.

(3) A loan may be raised under this section whether or not the raising of it may have the effect of increasing the amount of the public debt of the province or of extending the term of years prescribed in an Act authorizing the issue of securities proposed to be repaid, renewed or refunded with the proceeds of the loan.

1973 No86 s44

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Idem

49. (1) A sum may be raised by temporary loan in the manner and subject to the conditions set out in section 48 for the purpose of paying off other temporary loans raised under this Act.

(2) The minister shall lay a detailed account of all temporary loans raised under section 48 and this section before the House of Assembly within 15 days after the commencement of the next session.

1973 No86 s45

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Effect of recital in order

50. A recital or declaration, in an order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council made under this or another Act authorizing the issue and sale of securities, to the effect that the amount of that issue so authorized is necessary to realize the net sum required to be raised by way of loan, is conclusive evidence of that fact.

1973 No86 s46

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Disposition of proceeds

51. All money raised by the issue and sale of securities, other than the expenses connected with the issue and sale, shall be paid into an account of the province and shall form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1973 No86 s47

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Authority of Legislature

52. Except as provided in subsection 38(1), section 42, and sections 47, 48 and 55, nothing in this Act authorizes an increase in the public debt without the express authority of the Legislature.

1973 No86 s48

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Protection of holders of securities

53. Nothing in this Act impairs or prejudicially affects the rights of the holders of securities issued by the province before or after May 1, 1973.

1973 No86 s49

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Guaranteed securities interest

54. (1) Where under an Act passed either before or after May 1, 1973, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is authorized to guarantee the principal and interest of the bonds, debentures, debenture stock or other securities of a company or corporation, public or private, and that Act provides that the money realized by sale, hypothecation, pledge or otherwise of those securities shall be paid into a bank to the credit of the minister or to the credit of another account that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may direct or approve, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make those arrangements that he or she considers expedient with that bank and with that company or corporation, notwithstanding anything contained in that Act, for the payment to the company or corporation or the nominees of that company or corporation of the whole or a portion of the interest that has or may have accumulated upon that deposit and has or may have been credited to the minister or other account that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has directed or approved.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) no payment shall be made of the whole or a portion of the accumulated interest so credited unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council that there are no arrears of principal or interest due upon those bonds, debentures, debenture stock or other securities.

1973 No86 s50

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Power to borrow re guarantees

55. (1) Where under an Act passed either before or after May 1, 1973 a guarantee has been given by or on behalf of the province or the province is liable as guarantor for the payment of the principal or interest or both of a loan or obligation or of securities, and it becomes necessary under the terms of a guarantee to make a payment under the guarantee, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may raise by way of loan in the manner provided by this Act the sum necessary to fulfil a guarantee or a part of a guarantee and may expend the sum without a further or other appropriation than is provided by this section.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may raise by way of loan the sum necessary to fulfil a guarantee referred to in subsection (1) or a part of a guarantee, whether or not the raising of that sum may have the effect of increasing the amount of the public debt or of extending the term of years prescribed in the Act authorizing the giving of the guarantee.

(3) The minister shall make an annual report of all guaranteed loans paid in part or in whole and shall lay the report before the House of Assembly within 15 days after the opening of the next session, and the report shall show the name of the individual, society or organization whose guarantees have been paid, the full amount guaranteed and the amount of payment in each case.

1973 No86 s51

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Execution of bonds, etc.

56. When a security is issued or guaranteed by the province, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by order direct

(a) that the security or guarantee be executed in the manner and by the persons designated in the order; and

(b) that 1 of the signatures on the security and the signature on the coupons attached to the securities be lithographed or otherwise mechanically reproduced; or

(c) that all or more than 1 of the signatures on a security and the signatures on coupons attached to the security be lithographed or otherwise mechanically reproduced, where measures satisfactory to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council are taken to ensure the control of the issue of the security.

1973 No86 s52

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Regulations

57. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) for the management of the public debt;

(b) for the inscription of securities; and

(c) for the registration, transfer, management, exchange, redemption, cancellation and destruction of securities.

(2) Regulations may be made under subsection (1) for the issue of securities or making of payments in respect of damaged, defaced, mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed securities or interest coupons, and of the cheques pertaining to them and prescribing conditions to the issue or payment, including conditions respecting the furnishing of bonds of indemnity in respect of that issue or payment.

(3) Regulations referred to in subsection (2) may provide for the making of payments out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1973 No86 s53

PART V
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

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Accounts of the province

58. The accounts of the province shall be kept in the Department of Finance by double entry, under the general direction of the comptroller general, who shall maintain an accounting system to show, among other things

(a) the current state of the Consolidated Revenue Fund;

(b) the revenue and expenditures of the current fiscal year;

(c) the commitments for the current fiscal year chargeable against each Head of Expenditure; and

(d) the charges expended under section 22 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1973 No86 s54; 1981 c9 s5

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Public Accounts

59. (1) The comptroller general shall as soon as possible after the end of each fiscal year prepare a report, to be called the Public Accounts, and shall submit it for audit by the auditor general and onward transmission to the minister for submission to the House of Assembly.

(2) The Public Accounts shall show in respect of the fiscal year to which they relate

(a) the state of the public debt;

(b) the revenue and expenditure;

(c) all compromises, remissions, refunds and amounts written off; and

(d) those other accounts and statements that may under good accounting practice be required to show the financial positions of the province at the end of the fiscal year.

1973 No86 s55; 1981 c9 s5

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Tabling in House of Assembly

60. The minister shall lay the Public Accounts before the House of Assembly before February 1 in the following year if the Legislature is then in session, and, if it is not, then within 1 week after the commencement of the next session of the Legislature.

1973 No86 s56

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Alteration of time

61. The board may alter the period at or within which a public officer, corporation or institution is required to render an account or to make a return, where in the opinion of the board the alteration will facilitate the correct preparation of the statement of the Public Accounts to be submitted to the House of Assembly or of the annual estimates.

1973 No86 s57

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Auditor general

62. (1) There shall be a department of the government, which shall be called the Department of the Auditor General, over which the auditor general shall preside.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor may, for the more complete examination of the Public Accounts of the province and for the reporting on them to the House of Assembly, appoint an officer under the Great Seal of Newfoundland, who shall be called the Auditor General of Newfoundland.

(3) The auditor general shall be paid, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, an annual salary to be fixed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council by regulations made under section 87(1).

(4) The auditor general holds office during good behaviour until he or she attains the age of 65 years but is removable by the Lieutenant-Governor on address of the House of Assembly.

(5) The auditor general shall have the same leave and pension rights as are awarded to civil servants under the provisions of the Civil Service Act and the Public Service Pensions Act.

(6) An officer to be called the deputy auditor general, who shall be the deputy head of the Department of the Auditor General, and those other officers, clerks and employees that may be necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the Department of the Auditor General may be appointed in the manner authorized by law.

(7) Where in an Act, regulation, order, proclamation, commission, Order in Council, Order in Commission or in a contract, lease or other writing it is provided that a right, power, duty, liability or function shall be vested in or exercised or performed by the comptroller general and auditor general or by an officer of the Department of the Comptroller and Auditor General in matters relating to the examination of the Public Accounts of the province and the reporting on those accounts to the House of Assembly, that right, power, duty, liability or function shall be vested in and exercised or performed by the auditor general or by the appropriate officer of the Department of the Auditor General or by another officer of the Department of the Auditor General that may be designated by the auditor general.

(8) Where in an Act, regulation, order, proclamation, commission, Order in Council, Order in Commission or in a contract, lease or other writing of a similar or other kind the Department of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General is mentioned or referred to in matters relating to the examination of the Public Accounts of the province and the reporting on those accounts to the House of Assembly, there shall in each and every case be substituted the Department of the Auditor General, the auditor general and the deputy auditor general, respectively.

1973 No86 s58; 1974 No88 s5; 1974 No108 s3;
1977 c46 s4; 1981 c9 s5

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Regulations

63. The auditor general may, subject to the approval of the board, make regulations for the conduct of the internal business of his or her office.

1973 No86 s59

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Audit of expenditures

64. (1) The auditor general shall examine periodically the accounts of all departments and shall take those further steps that he or she considers necessary to determine that the accounts are faithfully and properly kept and that money expended has been applied, subject to this Act, to the purposes for which it was appropriated.

(2) The auditor general shall, in order that his or her examination may as far as possible proceed in the same manner with the expenditures of the several departments, have free access at all convenient times to the books of account and other documents relating to the accounts of the departments and may require that there be furnished to him or her from time to time or at regular intervals statements, reports and documents that he or she thinks reasonable and necessary.

(3) In concluding the examination of vouchers relating to expenditures under the grants for the several services sanctioned by the public service supply Act of the year or by another Act, the auditor general shall test the accuracy of the additions and computations of the several items of the vouchers.

(4) Where following examination the auditor general is satisfied that the accounts bear evidence that the vouchers have been completely checked, examined and certified as correct in every respect and that they have been allowed and passed by the proper departmental officers, he or she may admit the vouchers as satisfactory evidence of payment in support of the charges to which they relate, but where the minister desires any of the vouchers to be examined by the auditor general in greater detail, the auditor general shall order the vouchers to be subjected to the further examination in detail that the minister prescribes.

(5) The auditor general may station 1 or more officers of the auditor general in a department to enable him or her more effectively to carry out his or her duties under this Act, and the department shall provide reasonable office accommodation for the officer.

1973 No86 s60

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Audit of public money

65. (1) The auditor general shall satisfy himself or herself that all public money is being fully accounted for and shall examine at his or her discretion the accounts of all persons charged with the collection and management of public money.

(2) Notwithstanding the confidentiality provisions in the Financial Corporations Capital Tax Act, the Forest Land Management and Taxation Act, the Gasoline Tax Act, the Insurance Premiums Tax Act, the Mineral Holdings Impost Act, the Mining and Mineral Rights Tax Act, the Retail Sales Tax Act, and the Tobacco Tax Act, the auditor general shall have, at all convenient times, access to returns required to be made under those Acts.

(3) An official of the Department of Finance

(a) shall be present when the taxation returns referred to in subsection (2) are examined by the auditor general; or

(b) shall take a record of those taxation returns referred to in subsection (2), which are needed and examined by the auditor general.

1973 No86 s61; 1984 c45 s6

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Audit of accounts

66. (1) The auditor general shall, besides examining from time to time the various accounts of the several departments as provided for by this Act, examine and audit the accounts of the province for each fiscal year and for that purpose statements with respect to those accounts shall be prepared by those persons that the comptroller general may direct.

(2) The statements referred to in this section shall include

(a) accounts of all receipts forming the Consolidated Revenue Fund;

(b) accounts of all expenditures made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund;

(c) accounts current with the several banks and fiscal agents of the province;

(d) accounts relating to the raising or redemption of loans;

(e) accounts relating to sinking funds;

(f) accounts with other governments;

(g) accounts held in trust for others; and

(h) all other public accounts.

(3) Each of these accounts shall be examined under the direction of the auditor general who shall report annually to the House of Assembly the results of the examination of the accounts and financial statements of the province, and the report shall state whether, in the opinion of the auditor general

(a) proper books of account have been kept by the province;

(b) the financial statements of the province

(i) were prepared on a basis consistent with that of the preceding year and in agreement with the books of account,

(ii) in the case of the balance sheet, present fairly the state of the affairs of the province as at the end of the fiscal year,

(iii) in the case of the statement of revenues and expenditures, present fairly the revenues and expenditures of the province for the fiscal year, and

(iv) in the case of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the statement of receipts and payments present fairly the receipts and payments of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the fiscal year.

1973 No86 s62; 1981 c9 s5

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Reports

67. In a case in which the auditor general considers it necessary to report for the information of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the report shall be made through the minister.

1973 No86 s63

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Objection to expenditures

68. (1) Where during the progress of an examination conducted by the auditor general under this Act an objection arises in respect of an item charged or to be charged against an appropriation account, the auditor general shall immediately communicate the objection to the deputy minister of the department concerned and to the comptroller general and where the objection is not answered to the satisfaction of the auditor general he or she shall report the objection to the board.

(2) The board shall, where an objection is raised by the auditor general to an item charged or to be charged against an appropriation account, make the further examination that it considers equitable, and shall direct that that action be taken in the matter that appears to it to be just and reasonable, including the surcharge in whole or in part of an excess expenditure against the salary of the officers concerned, and the auditor general and the comptroller general shall govern themselves accordingly.

(3) The board shall report all directives made under subsection (2) to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1973 No86 s64; 1981 c9 s5

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Audit of other accounts

69. (1) The auditor general shall from time to time examine the accounts and records in respect of

(a) redeemed or cancelled securities, coupons and other obligations representing the debt of the province;

(b) equipment, supplies, provisions or stores the property of the Crown; and

(c) other accounts which the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on recommendation of the board, directs the auditor general to examine and audit.

(2) Where the examination of an account referred to in subsection (1) is completed, the auditor general shall transmit to the board a certificate in a form prescribed by the board and the certificate shall be a valid and effectual discharge according to its terms of the duties imposed upon the auditor general by this section.

1973 No86 s65

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Pre-audit

70. (1) Where so directed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on the recommendation of the board, the auditor general shall audit before payment the accounts of a department.

(2) Where the auditor general is directed to pre-audit certain accounts or classes of accounts, no payment of the accounts may be made until the auditor general has certified them to be correct or, on his or her raising an objection to an account, until the objection has been overruled by the board.

1973 No86 s66

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Annual report

71. (1) The auditor general shall report annually to the House of Assembly the result of the examination and audit of the accounts of the province in the manner that will exhibit the true state of each account at the termination of the fiscal year last ended.

(2) The minister shall present the report of the auditor general to the House of Assembly before February 1 in the following year if the House of Assembly is then in session and, if it is not, then within 1 week after the commencement of the next session.

(3) Where the minister does not present a report made by the auditor general as required by subsection (2), the auditor general shall present the report through the speaker.

(4) In reporting the result of his or her estimation and audit the auditor general shall call attention to every case in which

(a) a Head of Expenditure has been exceeded;

(b) money received from sources other than the grants for the year to which the accounts relate have not been properly applied or accounted for;

(c) a sum charged against a Head of Expenditure is not supported by proof of payment acceptable to the auditor general;

(d) a payment so charged was for any reason not properly charged against the Head of Expenditure or was irregular;

(e) a special warrant not subsequently sanctioned by the Legislature authorized the payment of money;

(f) an objection by the auditor general was overruled by the board;

(g) a refund or remission of a tax, duty, toll, fine, penalty or forfeiture has been made under this Act; and

(h) other matters which the auditor general considers should be brought to notice.

1973 No86 s67

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Auditor general may charge fees

72. (1) Where the auditor general examines and audits the accounts of a Crown corporation, board, commission, agency or other government funded body that may be designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the auditor general may charge that Crown corporation, board, commission, agency or other government funded body fees for professional services rendered by the auditor general.

(2) The fees referred to in subsection (1) shall be established on a basis that may be approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

1988 c50 s2

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Examination under oath or affirmation

73. The auditor general may examine a person on oath or affirmation on a matter pertinent to an account submitted to him or her for audit and the oath or affirmation may be administered by him or her.

1973 No86 s68

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Subpoena

74. (1) The auditor general may apply to a judge of the Trial Division for an order that a subpoena be issued from the court commanding a person named in the subpoena to appear before the auditor general at the time and place mentioned in the subpoena, to testify to all matters within his or her knowledge relative to an account submitted to him or her.

(2) Where so required, the person named in the subpoena shall produce a document, paper or thing which he or she has possession of relative to the account.

(3) A person named in a subpoena issued under this section is entitled to reasonable expenses at the time of the service.

1973 No86 s69; 1986 c42 Sch A

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Commission evidence

75. (1) Where, by reason of the distance at which a person whose evidence is required by the auditor general resides from St. John's, or for another cause, the auditor general considers it advisable, the auditor general may commission an officer or other person to take the evidence.

(2) An officer or other person who the auditor general commissions under subsection (1) to take evidence shall swear before a justice of the peace to execute the commission faithfully.

(3) An officer or other person who the auditor general commissions under subsection (1) has the same powers respecting the taking of the evidence as the auditor general and may in like manner apply to a judge of the Trial Division for a subpoena for the purpose of compelling the attendance of a person or the production of a document, paper or other thing in that person's possession.

1973 No86 s70

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Failure to attend

76. (1) A person summoned in accordance with section 74 or 75 to attend before the auditor general or a commissioner appointed by the auditor general, who

(a) fails, without valid excuse, to attend accordingly;

(b) fails to produce on request a document, paper or thing in his or her possession; or

(c) refuses to be sworn or to answer a lawful and pertinent question put to that person by the auditor general or by a commissioner,

is guilty of an offence and liable for each failure or refusal on summary conviction to a penalty of $200.

(2) The court by whom a person is convicted may, in addition to imposing the penalty under subsection (1), deal with the person as for contempt of court.

1973 No86 s71

PART VI
CIVIL LIABILITY AND PENALTIES

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Failure to account

77. (1) Where the minister has reason to believe that a person

(a) has received public money and has not paid it over;

(b) has received public money for which he or she is accountable and has not accounted for it; or

(c) has possession of public money applicable to a purpose and has not applied it to that purpose,

the minister may serve a notice on that person or on his or her personal representative, in case of the person's death, requiring him or her, within the time from the service of the notice that is stated in the notice, to pay over, account for, or so apply the public money, and to transmit to the minister proper vouchers that he or she has done so.

(2) The notice referred to in subsection (1) may be served by delivering a copy to the person to whom it is addressed or by leaving it at his or her usual place of residence.

(3) Where a person has failed to comply with a notice served on the person under subsection (1) within the time stated in the notice, the minister shall state an account between that person and the Crown, showing the amount of public money not paid over, accounted for or applied and, in the discretion of the minister, charging interest on the whole or a part of the amount at the rate of 6% a year from a date that the minister may determine.

(4) In a proceeding for the recovery of public money a copy of the account stated by the minister, certified by the minister, is evidence that the amount stated in the account, together with interest, is due and payable to the Crown, without proof of the signature of the minister or his or her official character and that amount and interest may be recovered as a debt due to the Crown.

1973 No86 s72

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Evidence

78. Where it appears to the minister

(a) by the books or accounts kept by or in the office of a person employed in the collection or management of public money;

(b) in an accounting by that person; or

(c) by his or her written acknowledgment or confession,

that that person has, by virtue of his or her office or employment, received public money and has refused or neglected to pay over the public money to the proper persons at the proper times, an affidavit deposing to those facts, taken by a person having knowledge of the facts, shall, in a proceeding for the recovery of that public money, be received in evidence and is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the facts stated in the affidavit.

1973 No86 s73

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Penalty for not reporting

79. (1) An officer or person who refuses or neglects to transmit an account, statement or return, with proper vouchers, to the officer or department to whom he or she is lawfully required to do so, on or before the day appointed for that transmission, is liable to a penalty of $100.

(2) A penalty imposed under subsection (1) is recoverable with costs as a debt due to the Crown and in an action for the recovery of the penalty the evidence of a witness or other evidence that the account, statement or return ought to have been transmitted by the defendant on the appointed day constitutes, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, evidence of the facts alleged by the Crown.

1973 No86 s74

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Liability for loss

80. Where, by reason of an unlawful act, wilful neglect of duty or gross negligence by a person employed in collecting or receiving a public money, a sum of money is lost to the province, that person is accountable for that sum as if it had been collected and received and it may be recovered from that person as if it had been collected and received.

1973 No86 s75

PART VII
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

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Offences

81. An officer or person acting in an office or employment connected with the collection, management or disbursement of the public money who

(a) receives compensation or a reward for performance of an official duty, except prescribed by law;

(b) conspires or colludes with a person to defraud the Crown or makes opportunity for a person to defraud the Crown;

(c) designedly permits a violation of the law by another person;

(d) wilfully makes or signs a false entry in a book or wilfully makes or signs a false certificate or return in a case in which it is his or her duty to make an entry, certificate or return;

(e) having knowledge or information of the violation of a revenue law by a person, or of fraud committed by a person, against the Crown under a revenue law of the province, fails to report in writing that knowledge or information to his or her next superior officer; or

(f) demands or accepts or attempts to collect directly or indirectly as payment or gift or otherwise a sum of money or anything of value for the compromise, adjustment or settlement of a charge or complaint for a violation or alleged violation of law, except as expressly authorized to do by law or by the authority of the department of which he or she is an officer,

shall be dismissed from office and is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year.

1973 No86 s76

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Bribe

82. (1) A person who

(a) promises, offers or gives a bribe to an officer or a person acting in an office or employment connected with the collection, management or disbursement of public money, with intent

(i) to influence his or her decision or action on a question or matter that is then pending, or may, by law, be brought before that person in his or her official capacity, or

(ii) to influence that officer or person to commit, or aid and abet in committing a fraud on the revenue, or to connive at, collude in, or allow or permit an opportunity for the commission of a fraud; or

(b) accepts or receives a bribe,

is guilty of an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 3 times the amount so offered or accepted, and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year.

(2) An officer or person who holds an office or place under the Crown and is convicted under this section shall forfeit the office or place, and a person who is convicted under this section shall be forever disqualified from holding an office of trust, honour or profit under the Crown.

1973 No86 s77

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Saving or other remedies

83. Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent, lessen or impair a civil or criminal remedy which the Crown or another person has against a person offending against this Act or his or her sureties, or against another person but nevertheless the conviction of an offender shall not be received in evidence in an action against that person.

1973 No86 s78

PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS

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Books etc. property of the Crown

84. All books, papers, accounts and documents kept or used by, or received or taken into the possession of a person who is or has been employed in the collection or management of public money or in accounting for public money, by virtue of that employment, shall be considered to be chattels belonging to the Crown, and all money or valuable securities received or taken into the possession of an officer or person by virtue of his or her employment shall be considered to be money and valuable securities belonging to the Crown.

1973 No86 s79

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Oath or affirmation

85. Testimony taken for the purpose of this Act shall be taken under oath or solemn affirmation administered by the person making the examination or inquiry.

1973 No86 s80

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Recovery and disposition of penalty

86. (1) The Minister of Justice may sue for and recover in the Crown's name a penalty, or enforce a forfeiture imposed by a law relating to public money, before a court or other judicial authority before which that penalty or forfeiture is recoverable or enforceable under that law, or may direct the discontinuance of a suit in respect of a penalty or forfeiture by whom or in whose name the suit has been brought.

(2) The whole of the penalty or forfeiture when recovered or enforced shall belong to the Crown for the public use of the province, but the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may allow a portion to the seizing officer or other person by whose information or aid the penalty or forfeiture has been recovered or enforced.

1973 No86 s82

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Regulations

87. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations fixing the remuneration of the comptroller general and the auditor general.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the regulations may not reduce the remuneration which the comptroller general or the auditor general previously received, without the consent of the House of Assembly.

(3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the board, make regulations to give effect to the provisions of this Act and to provide for a deficiency in the Act.

1973 No86 s83; 1974 No88 s6; 1981 c9 s5

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer