Mr. Chair, on this amendment, I've had a history as a member of Parliament through the 41st Parliament of turning to the parliamentary budget officer quite a lot. I've worked closely with the PBO, and I don't mean to say by any means that any of the members at this table who weren't in the 41st Parliament are in any way less equipped to deal with this legislation, but I would want you to know that's why I'm fighting the fight for the PBO as hard as I am. We need a PBO. We need the independence of the PBO. We need the PBO to have the tools he or she needs.
One of the key election promises from the Liberals that I liked was that the PBO would be an officer of Parliament. It's one of the reasons I voted. I was the only opposition member of Parliament to vote for the Speech from the Throne from the Liberal government. One of the things I liked in there was the commitment that the parliamentary budget officer would be an officer of Parliament, an independent, so I've been disappointed that so much of this act restricts that independence and access to information for the PBO.
Amendment PV-17 is for the purpose of ensuring that the parliamentary budget officer has access to seek redress in the courts through the Federal Court system to pursue information that he or she has not been granted by any branch of government. It inserts after line 15 on page 87 three additional subclauses that allow the PBO to make a demand of a department or a crown corporation and if there is a refusal to provide the information, that the reasons for the refusal be given, and if the reasons for the refusal are not given and access to information is refused, the PBO would have access to the courts. I think it would be used rarely, but it's one of those backstops for access to information for full information that the PBO requires.