Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Page, I would first of all like to thank you for testifying before our committee. I must admit to you, as well as to all of my colleagues, that for over 30 years I have been extremely interested in all matters that concern the Parliament.
I congratulate you on the work you have done, and I also commend the former government, which created the Parliamentary Budget Office. It was very important that that be done. It is an incredible tool.
As the first director of the office, you really created something with the tools you were given. I know that the government of the time was not always happy about it. However, as a Canadian citizen, I believe that the work you did was very important, and that this is being continued by your successor.
My question concerns the relationship between the parliamentary budget officer and parliamentarians. According to what I read in the papers, when a parliamentarian asks the office to focus on a given topic, you feel it important that the results of that work be made public 24 hours, or one business day, after the information was given to the member.
What recourse do I have as a member if I want to control that information? It could be because I do not want it to be published because it is not timely, and I might prefer that the results be released later. In such a case, rather than submitting my request to the PBO, should I submit it instead to the Parliamentary Library?
You have the floor.