Back Ottawa's Watchdogs

Independent Officers of Parliament keep watch over Canada's finances and hold government accountable. To ignore them is to do a disservice to Canadians.

The overwhelming negative response to Prime Minister Harper’s decision to prorogue has made it clear that Canadians demand more from their government than self-serving political manoeuvring. Among other things, Prime Minister Harper used, or rather misused, the constitutional tool of prorogation to further his own legislative and political agenda.

What’s more, he evidently believed that Canadians would not notice, or care. It has become clear that he was wrong. It is simply not good enough to have a government that puts partisan ideology above proper political process, accountability, and many times factual evidence.

So what does this government need to focus on in this upcoming session? A good place to start would be to restore the powers of Independent Officers of Parliament – to pay attention to those agencies that have real knowledge of policy issues based on objective research and analysis. These Officers produce reports which provide factual and accountable information needed for Parliamentarians to have meaningful debates.

Our Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, delivers consistently well-informed, non-partisan reports on Canada’s financial situation. It was Stephen Harper’s government who created the Parliamentary Budget Office to provide them with factual information and sound recommendations, and now the PMO continually ignores Mr. Page’s reports when they do not align with the government’s agenda.

In fact, The Budget Office’s funds were drastically cut when his numbers didn’t support fiscal estimations made by the PMO last year. It is unfortunate that a reliable source of knowledge on something as vital as our economy is criticized instead of valued by our Government. Accountability should be a point of pride, not contention.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer and our Independent Officers of Parliament keep a watchful eye on Parliamentarians and hold them accountable to Canadians. To ignore them is to truly do a disservice to Canadians.