Foster & Committee Offer A-G New Deal

Written by Peter McIntyre  107.5 KISSFM Wednesday, 23 January 2013 12:00

John Doyle, B.C. auditor general

  B.C.'s auditor general could staying on the job for another two and a half years. An all-party legislative committee chaired by Vernon MLA Eric Foster has offered John Doyle a contract renewal until the end of October 2015. Doyle has so far not responded to the offer. Foster tells Kiss FM it was a unanimous decision of the committee that has three Liberal members and two from the NDP. "There will be legislation introduced (this spring) which the Premier talked about, so that the next auditor general who will be appointed after Mr. Doyle's term will be appointed for an eight year, and none of this business we've gone through about re-appointments and stuff, will ever occur again," says Foster. Foster calls the decision a compromise, adding he's satisfied with the job Doyle has done the last six years. "He criticized the government, but that's part of his job. If I was very unhappy with the work that had gone forward, I wouldn't have supported it." The move is a reversal of an earlier decision by the Liberal-dominated committee not to extend Doyle's current six-year term. That decision set off a storm of controversy and resulted in Premier Clark urging the panel to review its decision. Clark also promised to bring in legislation to extend the term of the auditor from six to eight years and make it a single term.