Mr. Speaker, we need to evaluate just how much work the Parliamentary Budget Officer does for Canadians and the amount of money that is actually allocated to his budget. The member made reference to $3 million. That is the budget provided to this particular officer and as a result we get a great deal of value. The member also made mention of the number of reports.
Just last year the Conservatives, with the support of the NDP I must say, proposed to increase the size of the House of Commons by 30 new members of Parliament. Canadians do not believe there is a need to have more politicians. That cost is estimated at somewhere in the neighbourhood of $30 million a year. Therefore, at 10% of that budget, we could have a well-financed parliamentary budget office. Many would argue that the amount of money that is given to the Parliamentary Budget Officer should be increased.
Does the member agree that the government has bad priorities in terms of the financing of the Parliamentary Budget Officer role and is not assigning it the true value of its actual worth?