Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The amendment would replace line 39 on page 80 in order to emphasize the discretion of the parliamentary budget officer and his independence. It is a recurrent topic but once again this amendment aims to remove the consultation role of the Speakers of the Houses regarding the PBO. This can be found at the end of page 80 under the heading “Annual workplan”. If the amendment were adopted, the clause would read as follows:
[...] finances or economy or to the estimates or priorities of the government that, in the parliamentary budget officer's opinion, should be brought to the attention [...]
The objective is to broaden his mandate and clarify it with regard to the annual work plan.