Evidence of meeting #16 for Finance in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was stimulus.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have a number of questions, so I'll ask you to be succinct in your answers.
Your discussion today talks about the first quarter. That's the calendar quarter, is that correct?
4:45 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
That's correct, first quarter.
4:45 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
But the government's year starts April 1. It's not the calendar quarter. So why, if you're of the budgetary office for the Government of Canada, are you not comparing the government's actual budgetary quarter to that, the quarter that exists in real time?
You know, I've heard comments about stimulus not getting out there faster. Well, the estimates, the spending is still in the Senate. They haven't even got passed yet. So why wouldn't we, if your job is to look at what's in the budget and whether it's accurate or not.... I don't think it's to comment on whether it's good policy or not, right?
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
If we didn't have a stimulus package, technically you couldn't come here and say that we should have a stimulus package. You could come here and say whether what we've put in the budget is accurate, but not that we need a stimulus package.
Is that not an accurate statement?
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
Correct; we're not here to provide suggestions on new policy measures that could make the stimulus package bigger, smaller, or different. What we do want to do is make sure that you have a really good sense of what's happening in the first quarter of the Canadian economy based on our monitoring.
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
The first three months of 2009. We have additional information that finance department officials and Minister Flaherty would not have had in terms of putting together his January projections--
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
I don't mean to be rude, Mr. Page; I'm just trying to get something in here.
To be accurate, though, once our first quarter of government is done, then you would analyze what we've done in that first quarter in terms of money out the door--let's use it that way--compared to what the budget actually said. That would be an accurate analysis, correct?
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
We've focused in our briefing today just on economic implications. It's not a fiscal analysis, per se, on the first quarter.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Right.
I find it strange that the Liberal Party wouldn't support my motion for peer review of what you have to say. But now they are, so....
I'm not asking you to comment on that.
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
Actually, I'm very supportive of peer review, sir. Most of our products are peer-reviewed. In fact, I'm leaving tonight to go and speak to business economists in Victoria and Winnipeg.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
I appreciate also that you're meeting with the deputy minister and you're getting some feedback. If there are some issues in terms of information, I hope they get resolved relatively quickly.
You showed us the GDP against the U.S. How come you didn't show us any of the positive stuff that Canada is doing in comparison? We're in better shape, would you not agree, than our American friends on a number of issues, whether it's mortgages, failure rates, all those kinds of things? Is there a reason that you only show us the negative and not where Canada is better than others?
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
Actually, we're pretty much focused on those headline numbers that the government of the day would be focused on as well in terms of what it means overall for the Canadian economy and what its implications are for the fiscal situation. If you ask us to comb through the numbers and look for the most positive kinds of indicators, there are some positive indicators, sir. We saw a jump in retail sales in January. Mind you, it was after a very steep decline in December. Motor vehicle sales as well strengthened in January relative to where they were in December.
We can look for those things. The markets certainly have strengthened, sir, in the last number of weeks.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Okay.
My last question is a budgetary question; you are the budgetary office. The revenues that we project in there are projections, correct, whether they're corporate or personal? Those revenues that are based in the budget are projections, correct?
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Would you agree that the Government of Canada owns more than $10 billion worth of assets?
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
So if the projection of what we could.... It's part of the budget, part of the revenue stream. Part of that is a reduction in wasteful government spending, part of it is in reduction of assets, but they are all projections. Would you agree with that, then?
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
The projection that revenues will be forthcoming from asset sales?
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Right. That's just a projection of what they've put out there.
Now, you did make the point that they didn't show you, as they haven't shown me, what those assets would be.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
But then you made the statement--I don't mean to be rude--that you didn't think it was prudent, or achievable, or something along those lines.
Shouldn't your answer have been that based on the information you have, or don't have, you really can't comment? Because it's just projections, as it is for the corporate revenues, and the personal tax revenues, and all the other revenue streams that are indicated in the budget.
4:50 p.m.
Parliamentary Budget Officer, Library of Parliament
Sir, on that point, when the government introduced the measures it did in its 2009 budget, when they introduced tax reduction measures, those were instituted. There was a ways and means motion. They were implemented. Canadians will benefit by those sorts of sales. We know exactly what they're doing.
We've seen a global number in asset sales, but we haven't seen the list, sir. That's really what we're saying. We made that point last year, sir.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Thank you, Mr. Wallace. I'm sorry, your time is up.
We'll go to Mr. Mulcair.