Certainly. Thank you for the question.
Broadly speaking, of the five key recommendations identified by the OECD, I would say that two squarely fall in the lap of parliamentarians. Those relate to legislative amendments that the OECD recommends based upon their consultations with virtually all stakeholders, including the government. It represents a plurality of views. This is not exclusively an OECD perspective. It's important to understand that they heard this from many stakeholders.
Also, as part of the review process around this report, it was circulated among many external reviewers and other jurisdictions, including the Committee of Senior Budget Officials, of which Canada's Department of Finance is a part. It's a recommendation that was not uniquely sent to us by the good folks in Paris.
Regarding legislative amendments, again, the legislation is what the legislation is. Parliament has decided to provide the Prime Minister and the government with discretion around the interim appointment—more discretion than currently exists for the nominated permanent PBO. Should Parliament decide to change that, it would certainly be beneficial on the appointment side. That is something I believe I mentioned on September 15 as part of my first committee testimony here at the government operations committee.
First and foremost, it would be beneficial with respect to the operating stability of the institution. When Mr. Giroux's term came to an end, he received a phone call on his final day indicating that he was not being renewed. About 24 hours before that, I received a request to step in. It's not a good way to manage the office, as a whole.
More importantly, any shortcomings or additional challenges on our end result in lower-quality services for parliamentarians. As the Prime Minister and the government have pointed out on numerous occasions, budget 2025 is potentially the most important budget in a generation. Over the coming weeks, we're looking at, potentially, the most important aspect of the parliamentary financial cycle. The main estimates came down this morning, with departmental plans in the next two weeks. Shortly after that, we're looking at a spring update. All of this involves cuts of $60 billion, layoffs in 40,000 FTEs and substantial investments on the defence side.
Parliamentarians need that support. We're certainly well placed to provide it. Providing additional stability to the parliamentary budget office, which serves parliamentarians, puts parliamentarians further ahead, overall.