Mr. Speaker, the government noted that the mandate of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the location of this position within the Library of Parliament were previously studied by the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament. The joint committee found the Parliamentary Budget Officer's services to be a natural extension of those provided to parliamentarians by the Library, which include non-partisan and customized research and analysis services to assist parliamentarians in committees in considering legislation and holding the government to account. As the joint committee noted, the Library provides these services with full independence from the government.
In the House of Commons on November 5th, 2012. See this statement in context.