The general auditor, who tries to shed light on the financial situation of Laurentian University, asked the Superior Court to decide on the issue after the establishment refused to provide certain privileged documents.

The latter include documents related to the Governors' Council and the establishment's committees, legal service bills, emails and electronic files, as well as documents related to human resources, recruitment and negotiations with unions.

In his arguments before the Court, the lawyer of the general auditor, Richard Dearden, relied on the Act on the Auditor General (New window) which contains a particular article on the obligation, for public services andBeneficiaries of government grants, to provide information.

Ontario general auditor, Bonnie Lysyk

Photo: Radio-Canada / Matéo Garcia-Tremblay

L’article 10 du texte indique que le vérificateur général a le droit d’avoir libre accès à tous les livres, comptes, registres financiers, fichiers informatiques, rapports, dossiers ainsi qu’à tout autre document, objet ou bien qui appartiennent aux ministères, aux organismes de la Couronne, aux sociétés contrôlées par la Couronne ou aux bénéficiaires de subventions, selon le cas, [...] et que le vérificateur général estime nécessaires pour exercer les fonctions que lui attribue la présente loi.

Le même article prévoit qu’une divulgation faite au vérificateur général [...] ne constitue pas une renonciation au privilège du secret professionnel de l’avocat, au privilège lié au litige ou au privilège à l’égard des négociations.

Me Dearden argued that by modifying the law in 2004, Ontario legislators had included such provisions in order to allow the office of the auditor general to require documents of a privileged nature on the part of agencies or organizations which he checksfinances.

Il a par ailleurs souligné que l’article 27 de la même loi prévoit l’obligation de garder le secret pour le vérificateur général ainsi que le personnel de son bureau.

Il s’agit là, selon Me Dearden, de balises explicites contre la publication d’informations privilégiées.

In other words, even if the general auditor had access to these documents, she is held by law not to disclose them to the public.

In his annual report published last week, Bonnie Lysyk also indicated that her office had offered to transmit to Laurentian leaders a preliminary version of her report so that they examine it before he was published and thus avoidthat confidential information is revealed to the public.

No abrogation of the privilege allowed by law, maintains Laurentian

Laurentian University, it is not of the same opinion.

His lawyer, Brian Gover, affirmed that in his opinion, article 10 of the Acts for the Auditor General did not give the Autoring Authority to require confidential documents and thus to go beyond the privilege of secrecyProfessional of the lawyer, the privilege linked to the dispute or the privilege with regard to negotiations.

Le langage employé dans la loi, a indiqué Me Gover, ne révèle pas d'intention claire et explicite d'abroger le privilège.

Laurentian University has been sheltered from its creditors since February.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Yvon Theriault

To justify his remarks, he referred in particular to the law governing the auditor general of Nova Scotia.

Le texte stipule que le vérificateur général de cette province a un accès non restreint, en tout temps, à tous les documents d’une entité [...] s’il le juge nécessaire pour accomplir ses fonctions malgré la Loi sur l’accès à l’information et la protection de la vie privée ou toute autre loi, et malgré tous les autres droits à vie privée, la confidentialité et au privilège, dont le privilège du secret professionnel de l’avocat, au privilège lié au litige ou au privilège à l’égard des négociations.

Even if under the Auditor General Act, the general auditor and the staff of his office have the obligation to keep secret, Me Gover fears the possibility of an unintentional information leak.

L'avocat a affirmé, par ailleurs, qu’il n’y a aucune preuve qui démontre que la vérificatrice générale a besoin d’informations privilégiées pour accomplir son travail de vérification des finances de la Laurentienne et que l’Université lui avait donné accès à tous les documents non privilégiés qu’elle avait sollicités.

Sur cet argument, l’avocat de la vérificatrice générale, Richard Dearden, a répondu que le but de l’audience de lundi n’était pas de déterminer si Bonnie Lysyk avait besoin d’informations privilégiées pour faire son travail, mais plutôt d’établir si l’article 10 de la Loi sur le vérificateur général donnait [à Bonnie Lysyk] l’autorité d’exiger des informations privilégiées.

Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said he would try to make a decision in this case quickly, but did not specify when exactly.

Bonnie Lysyk began her finance verification of Laurentian University after the Permanent Committee for Queen’s Park public accounts had entrusted the mission in April.

Last week, by presenting her report, she stressed that her office had never had to go to court before to try to obtain documents from an establishment in which he was investigating.

Laurentian University, in the midst of a financial crisis, has been sheltered from its creditors in February.

In April, the establishment announced the abolition of 69 programs including 28 in French.He continued his restructuring under judicial supervision at least until January 31, 2022.