(YELLOWKNIFE) Monday, December 4, 2017 – Kieron Testart, MLA for Kam Lake and Danny McNeely, MLA for Sahtu, will take part in a 3-day commonwealth workshop to examine the government’s spending of public money and prevent tax avoidance and to promote tax transparency in the Northwest Territories (NWT). 

The 2017 Westminster Workshop for Public Accounts Committees (PACs) will bring together over 60 chairs, members and clerks of PACs from across the Commonwealth to offer practical, interactive sessions from 4-7 December in the Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom. Mr. Testart is the Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations (SCOGO) and Mr. McNeely is a committee member. SCOGO serves as the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.

The skills-based workshop, which has been organized by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK), is aimed at further building the knowledge and capacity and will include a Tax Transparency Workshop by the OECD. CPA UK is providing partial funding for the attendance of delegates from the NWT in recognition of the limited financial resources available to smaller legislatures, such as the Legislative Assembly of the NWT. 

The final day will be dedicated to the 1st Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts Committees (CAPAC), a committee designed to strengthen good governance. 

Chair of the UK Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier said:

“The 2017 Westminster Workshop provides a unique opportunity for public accounts committees to discuss common challenges and experiences. 

“I am pleased to see so many commonwealth PACs working together to strengthen and improve their Committee so taxpayers get the best value for money of public spending.” 

Deputy Director of the OECD, Grace Perez-Navarro said:

“Good governance requires a good use of public money which is why I am pleased to be a part of the 2017 Westminster Workshop on Public Accounts Committees.” 

Strengthening Commonwealth Public Accounts Committees

The Workshop follows on from a series of recent programmes to strengthen PACs in Commonwealth countries including Ghana and Montserrat will also have representatives participating in the Workshop.

Public Accounts Committees are aimed at examining public spending to ensure taxpayers money is spent effectively and efficiently.

After the agreement of the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), parliamentarians and policymakers nationally and internationally have become increasingly focused on strengthening tax policies and frameworks as a key means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

CPA UK has supported the establishment of the Association throughout its initial formation period and has run the CAPAC Coordinating Unit (CCU) until January 2016. Currently, the CCU is hosted by the Parliament of Malta.

For further information, please contact:

Kieron Testart, Chair
Standing Committee on Government Operations
Legislative Assembly of the NWT
Mobile: (867) 446-0177
E-mail: kieron_testart@gov.nt.ca

For further information from CPA UK, please contact:

Semhar Tesfu
+44 7917 488 653

Workshop Website: https://www.uk-cpa.org/events-projects/2017-westminster-workshop-for-pub...