OTTAWA, ON, October 26, 2005 -- The Board of Directors of the Royal
Canadian Mint (RCM) today released the findings of two independent reviews
related to the expenditures incurred by the Honourable David C. Dingwall
during his tenure as President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
The scope of the first review, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC),
was to determine the legitimacy of the expenses of the Office of the President
and CEO from March 24, 2003 to September 28, 2005. The second review, led by
Peter Dey of the legal firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, one of Canada's
foremost experts in corporate governance, was undertaken to review the
provisions of the corporate governance systems of the Royal Canadian Mint
relating to the reimbursement of expenses incurred by the office of the CEO.
The PWC report concluded that of the total expenditures incurred by the
Office of the President during his 30-month tenure, $2,570.66 was determined
to be reimbursable to the RCM. In addition, $4,198.35 was deemed recoverable
due to a clerical payroll error and car insurance prepayments issued by the
RCM. PWC also stated that the tone of the travel and hospitality policies were
consistent with the Mint's objective to improve its financial performance.
The second review, conducted by Mr. Dey, supplemented the findings of the
PricewaterouseCoopers review. In his report, Mr. Dey concluded the governance
process followed by the Mint with respect to the approval and reimbursement of
its CEO's expenses was sufficient to ensure that the Corporation's funds were
"expended in a manner consistent with the Mint's policy." Furthermore, he
notes "Because of the sensitive position of crown corporations in our economic
system, the RCM has a more rigorous process for approving CEO expenses. The
RCM process goes well beyond what one could expect to find in most private
sector corporations."
"The Board of Directors of the Royal Canadian Mint accepts the findings
of the independent reviews," said Marc Brûlé, Chair of the Audit Committee and
Member of the Mint's Board of Directors. "The Board of Directors understands
that Canadians hold public sector organizations to higher standards of
integrity and accountability and the Mint is no exception. We are committed to
aspiring to these standards while continuing to meet our objectives as a
commercial crown corporation."
Both reviews build on the findings of the Auditor General's regularly
scheduled detailed five-year Special Examination Report of all Mint operations
conducted earlier in the year. In the report, required under the Financial
Administration Act, the Auditor General concluded that the systems and
practices of the Royal Canadian Mint are designed and operated in a fashion
which provides reasonable assurances that assets are safeguarded and
controlled, and that resources are being managed economically and efficiently.
Both reports are available at www.mint.ca
The Royal Canadian Mint, an ISO 9001-2000 certified company, is the Crown
Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's
circulation coins. The Royal Canadian Mint is recognized as one of the largest
and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized,
high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale.
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For further information:
Pam Aung Thin
Vice-President Communications
Tel.: (613) 993-5092
Tel.: (613) 991-5342
Cellular: (613) 220-5096
E-mail: aungthin@mint.ca