Bonnie Lysyk

Bonnie Lysyk was the Auditor General of Ontario from 2013 to 2023. Previously, she was Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan, and Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer of Manitoba. Before that, she served as Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer of Manitoba. This followed the $275 million net cost of canceling the Mississauga plant (at a cost of $351 million and associated savings of about $76 million). The approximately one billion dollar expense was far higher than it needed to be according to Lysyk, as the government did not take advantage of contract provisions that protected the province.

Treatment of public sector pension plans in the public accounts

In Ontario's 2015/2016 public accounts, Auditor General Lysyk was concerned that two public sector pension plans discounted plan liabilities at 6.25%, which is higher than the 2.2% on Ontario Savings Bonds and even above the rates the plans themselves use (4.8% and 5.55%) — "a particular sticking point" for Lysyk. Public Sector Accounting Standards allow some flexibility in choice of discount factors, Premier Kathleen Wynne disagreed, and set up an expert advisory panel that concluded it would be misleading to not include the province's share in the budget surplus. The panel reasoned that the government could use the surpluses to lower contributions required for the plans. However, Lysyk noted projections of the surpluses as assets did not mention a plan to use the monies in that way,

The Ontario government's justification for using the U.S. GAAP standard was that the International Financial Reporting Standards used in Ontario did not contain any allowance for rate-regulated accounting. and she disagreed that the deferred rate recovery could be called a "regulatory asset." She said that "borrowings are debt; unearned revenue is not an asset today; and when your expenses exceed your revenues, you incur a deficit."

COVID-19 pandemic response

Premier Doug Ford said he had "serious, serious problems" with Auditor General Lysyk's report on Ontario's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which Lysyk said was "disorganized and inconsistent." She also said the long-term care sector was not prepared or equipped to handle the pandemic, and that Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, "did not lead" and did not fully exercise his powers.

Toronto's Greenbelt

Auditor General Lysyk's August 9, 2023 report revealed that Ryan Amato, the chief of staff to Housing Minister Steve Clark, drove the process that led to 15 parcels of land being removed from the Greenbelt area around Toronto, creating a potential $8.3 billion gain for a select group of developers. and she has taught auditing courses in Toronto and overseas. On 7 October 2024, Lysyk was named executive vice-president of enforcement with the Ontario Securities Commission.

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Lysyk was named a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Ontario a distinction that formally recognizes CPAs who have rendered exceptional service to the profession and in their communities.

Lysyk is the recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Leader Award from Brock University's Goodman School of Business.