Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak today in support of the opposition day motion, which states:
That this House: (a) reaffirm the essential role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer in providing independent analysis to Parliamentarians on the state of the nation's finances, trends in the Canadian economy, and the estimates process; and (b) call on the government to: (i) extend the mandate of current Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page until his replacement is named; and (ii) support legislation to make the Parliamentary Budget Officer a full, independent officer of Parliament.
The Liberal Party supports the work of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and I think that is well known throughout the country as we have listened to Mr. Page take a responsible position in terms of being conscientious and looking closely at the expenditures of the government. The political stripe of the government in question does not matter. The role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer is meant to be one who examines how money is spent when we consider it is taxpayer money.
We previously tabled a motion at committee to extend Mr. Page's term and to continue to call for the parliamentary budget officer to be made a full, independent officer of Parliament.
At the heart of today's debate is the question of fiscal accountability. In 2006 the same Conservative government, filled with a moral sense that clearly no longer burdens it, introduced the Federal Accountability Act. The Liberals supported the increased accountability called for in the act, which is why we cannot now sit idly by while the same Conservative government discredits the very institution it created.
The cornerstone of the act was the creation of a parliamentary budget officer through an amendment to the Parliament of Canada Act. The act formally defined the parliamentary budget officer as an officer of the Library of Parliament and granted free and timely access to government information. In addition, the Federal Accountability Act established that the PBO's mandate would be to:
—provide independent analysis to the Senate and the House of Commons on the state of the nation's finances, the government's estimates and trends in the Canadian economy; and upon request from a committee or parliamentarian, to estimate the financial cost of any proposal for matters over which Parliament has jurisdiction.
On March 25, 2008, the Conservative government appointed Kevin Page as the first ever parliamentary budget officer and from the outset Mr. Page took his job seriously. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that he continues to excel in his role, ensuring accurate economic information and analysis are available to the House of Commons so members of Parliament from all stripes have some facts to compare to the questionable statements that are made by the Minister of Finance.
Sadly for Canadian taxpayers, after coming to the realization that the Parliamentary Budget Officer was unwilling to accept, without question, directions from the Prime Minister and his finance minister, it became clear that the government would stop at nothing to discredit the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the office itself. It seems that seven years in, the government is doing everything in its power to avoid being accountable to the Canadian taxpayer.
Shockingly, the finance minister has even attempted to reduce the importance of the role of the PBO to a “sounding board” for the Prime Minister's Office. Worse, he accused Mr. Page of not doing his job and “wandering off and going in other places”. Although unbecoming of a finance minister of Canada, the constant attacks to the credibility of this vital parliamentary office are undeniable and inexcusable. While the finance minister was busy denying Canadians the right to fiscal transparency, Mr. Page was fighting an uphill battle against the Conservative government for accountability.
That is why we are concerned that as Mr. Page's remarkable service to his country comes to an end, it seems the government is delaying in finding a replacement for him. With Mr. Page's last days as the PBO fast approaching and no obvious process to hire a replacement under way, I am worried that the Conservatives are using stall tactics to silence the Parliamentary Budget Office once and for all.
These types of stall tactics would not be uncharacteristic of the government. This is the same government that has often refused to share the vital information, the financial data, which Mr. Page requires to do the job he is mandated to do, in an effort to try to prevent the PBO from keeping Parliament informed.
After the Conservatives spent the last four years doing nothing but attacking the person integrity of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, it comes as no surprise that there is not exactly a bevy of eager candidates lining up to fill his shoes, which is all the more reason why the government should have started the hiring process months ago.
According to Don Drummond, a former senior official at Finance Canada who was instrumental in hiring Mr. Page as part of the 2008 hiring panel, it will be even harder to fill the position this time, given the lawsuit the PBO is currently involved in with federal departments over documents.
When the government finally puts out its hiring ad, what exactly should it list as important job requirements? The individual must be able with withstand daily personal attacks, or previous experience not offering professional opinions that contradict the Conservative Party of Canada Ideological objectives? Mr. Page himself considers the role of the PBO to be a career ender in the public service.
Furthermore, the Parliamentary Budget Officer functions under the Library of Parliament, instead of being granted the full independence of other watchdogs, such as the Auditor General.
In the words of Mr. Page:
In watchdog parlance, I am appointed by the person (the prime minister) who I am supposed to watch...I work at ‘pleasure’ and can be dismissed ‘without cause’.
It is completely unreasonable to expect a parliamentary watchdog to function if he or she can be fired for criticizing his or her boss.
I appeal to those in the Conservative government who once favoured transparency over the prime ministerial cone of silence. The vote on the motion will prove once and for all if there are any Conservatives who still champion transparency or if their introduction of the Parliamentary Budget Officer was merely a political ploy that they never expected to function as well as it does today.
It is clear that the work that Mr. Page has been doing, and is continuing to do, is work that then Conservatives never thought would lead to criticism of their actions. Otherwise, they would be more supportive of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and they would accept and respect the position that he holds.
Governments are not always right. Governments make mistakes. It is unfortunate that the current government refuses to admit that it does not have all the answers.
With tax season well under way, my constituents of Random—Burin—St. George's, like Canadians everywhere, are duly reporting their hard-earned income to the Conservative government and paying their taxes. They rightfully expect the federal government in turn to tell them how their money is being spent.
As the government that created the largest deficit in Canadian history, the Conservatives have proven that they are not capable of spending taxpayer money prudently. With a government like this, my constituents rely upon the Parliamentary Budget Office for the truth, just as parliamentarians do. For example, while the Conservatives were trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians with respect to the costs of the F-35 fighter jets, the Parliamentary Budget Officer was busy reporting the true costs of the purchase. Thanks, in part, to Mr. Page's timeless efforts on the file, Canadians knew all along that the government was not coming clean with the facts.
By revealing the true cost of the Conservative government's initiatives, such as the F-35 procurement process, as well as the Conservative crime agenda, it is the PBO, not the Conservative government, who has shown Canadians the real fiscal transparency and accountability.
