Parliament budget watchdog needs more money: committee
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 | 5:43 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Parliament's budget watchdog is woefully underfunded, the Library of Parliament committee said in a report released Tuesday. The committee recommended his 2009-2010 budget be raised to $2.8 million from $1.86 million.
Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page's current budget is $323,000 short of his projected spending for the fiscal year and well short of the $2.75 million he was supposed to get before his budget was cut.
"Even with a $2.75-million budget it was virtually impossible to provide scrutiny of departmental estimates [planned expenditures] representing over $240 billion per year," the committee said.
"The reduction will mean that the scope for the PBO to fulfil the legislated mandate will be further reduced."
Page was appointed as the first parliamentary budget officer in March 2008. His job is to hold government to account by increasing transparency in its fiscal planning and improving scrutiny of the estimates, but his office has been plagued by budget cuts.
Page made waves in his first reports on government spending, predicting costs of the war in Afghanistan would be much higher than the government forecast and saying the deficit predictions in the Conservatives' last budget were too low.
He reported last October that the military mission in Afghanistan could cost a total of $18.1 billion — or $1,500 for every Canadian household — by 2011 and criticized the manner in which government was keeping its financial records.
Page said a lack of consistency and transparency made the figures difficult to estimate, and they likely understated the full costs of the mission.
In February, he cast doubt on the federal government's rosy projections in the budget, saying the recession would likely be deeper than expected and Ottawa's stimulus package smaller and less effective than predicted.
Page told a parliamentary committee the government's claimed $39.9-billion stimulus package over two years is effectively about 20 per cent smaller, at $31.8 billion — at best.
He said the difference would mean the extra spending is unlikely to create or save the 190,000 jobs projected by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He estimated the figure at closer to 120,000.
Page also said the government was unrealistically counting on revenues from corporate taxes to rebound more quickly than likely, which would mean Ottawa may remain in deficit longer than four years.
Among its other recommendations, the committee said Tuesday that Page should not release any reports during general election campaigns.
Page's Afghanistan report became an issue before it was ever released when it was delayed until after last October's federal election.
