Auditor general to conduct first comprehensive review of IRAC

The Island Regulatory andAppeals Commission (IRAC)will soon be put under the microscope of the province's auditor general.

Auditor General Jane MacAdam has approved a request from theLegislative Audit Committeefor a comprehensive review of IRAC.

The commission is best known for setting gas prices, but alsooversees some land sales, waste management and rental disputes.

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Since it was set up in 1991, this is the first time theauditor general will look at how the commissionworks.

According to opposition leader Jamie Fox, a review is long overdue.

"I think it's time. I think we need to look at how that organization deals with the public and the powers that are entrusted to them,"saidFox, who also chairs the province's Legislative Audit Committee.

"IRAChas basically an absolute power given to them," Fox continued to say.

'I thinkIRACneeds to be restructured'

Fox said he would like the auditor general to look at who's on the commission, how it makes decisions and when they're made public, with thehopes the audit will highlight ways it can improved and modernized.

"I'll make no bone about it. I thinkIRACneeds to be restructured," he said. "I really have to wonder if politically appointed individuals are best qualified in making these decisions that they're making."

MacAdamsaidshe hasn't started working on the review yet but will begin planning work later this year.

"It would be an examination similar to what we would do in a performanceaudit," she said.

She also saidthe review likely wouldn't be ready for this fall's legislative sitting.

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