RCMP would not say who made the complaint or if it was made by more than one person. (New Brunswick government)
RCMP say the complaint of "financial irregularities" against the office of the lieutenant-governor came from the office itself.
Sgt. Mario Maillet, a spokesperson for the force, wouldn't say exactly who made the complaint or in what circumstances, or even if it came from one person or multiple people.
The investigation was opened Aug. 2, the same day Lt.-Gov. Jocelyn Roy Vienneau died.
No charges have been laid, Maillet said Friday, and there's no timeline for getting the answers to remaining questions.
"Financial crime investigations can take a long time, depending on what kind of information we receive," he said.
Premier Blaine Higgs said in a statement he may consider asking the auditor general to look into the matter, but it all depends on the result of the investigation.
"Where this is an ongoing RCMP investigation we won't be making any further comments," he said.
Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau died on Aug. 2. A new lieutenant-governor has not been appointed yet. (James West/Canadian Press)
A provincial spokesperson confirmed the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Office of the Comptroller have jointly conducted an audit that brought this issue to the attention of the RCMP. Exactly what prompted the audit is still unknown.
A new lieutenant-governor has not been appointed yet, so this investigation comes at a time when there is no one to sign cabinet orders or approve cabinet decisions.
Parliamentary expert Lyle Skinner said New Brunswick is lucky the legislature is not sitting in the summer.
"You never know when some type of urgent government decision needs to be made, [which] can't happen because of the office being vacant," he said.
Skinner said 21 days without a representative of the Crown is a record for New Brunswick. The previous record of 16 days was reached when John Boyd died in office on Dec. 4, 1893.
Lieutenant-governors serve a minimum term of five years unless they resign early, so an appointment to replace Roy Vienneau was widely expected this fall regardless.
What about the federal election?
Skinner said there is no concern that the federal election will get in the way of appointing a lieutenant-governor, if it takes that long to appoint one.
Canada has a caretaker convention, which says government should restrict itself to routine and non-controversial decisions when election time is close.
The Canada Elections Act says a campaign can be a maximum of 50 days, which means the writs for this year's election can't be be issued until Sept. 1.
"This is 10 days away," he said. "If it gets to the point where the position is not filled by then, the caretaker convention would kick in."
RCMP investigating the lieutenant-governor's office have not laid any charges. (New Brunswick government)
New Brunswick RCMP are investigating a complaint of "financial irregularities" at the lieutenant-governor's office.
Sgt. Mario Maillet, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said the force received the complaint on Aug. 2, the same day Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau died.
Maillet said the RCMP could not provide any details about the investigation but noted no charges have been laid.
A spokesperson for the province refused to comment on the matter, saying any questions about the investigation should be directed to the RCMP.
Office funded by province, feds
The office of the lieutenant-governor is funded by the provincial and federal governments.
In the 2017-18 fiscal year, the last year numbers are available, the federal government paid $62,947 in expenses incurred by the lieutenant-governor "in the exercise of their official duties."
For that same year, the province listed the office as having a budget of $342,000.
While the provincial budget for the office is not broken down, the federal numbers are for travel and accommodation, hospitality, and operational and administrative expenses.
While the figures for these individual categories have varied from year to year, since 2010 they have always totalled $62,947.
