FIVE YEARS AS PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICER

On page A7 of the Waterloo Region Record is an extraordinary story told by Canada's first Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), Mr. Kevin Page. He gives us the history of the office as well as why it was formed. He then goes on to give us more details as to why he believes that the office is under threat. The title of the Record's story is appropriately "Parliamentary budget office under threat". Mr. Page pulls no punches whatsoever in his criticism of our current federal government. While they indeed get the credit for the original idea, Mr. Page suggests that their tune changed dramatically once they were in power.

Mr. Page's tenure was often difficult and he was routinely criticized by the Conservative government. To date they have not replaced him with anything other than an interim PBO who is actually the parlimentary librarian. Mr. Page's concerns under all the circumstances seem well founded. It would seem only logical and democratic to give members of parliament access to good, unbiased information regarding the financial implications of various pieces of legislation. This apparent resistance by the government does not bode well for either transparency or accountability.