Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
“We want some change. We will be keeping the government’s … feet to the fire on it to see if we can implement some of these changes.”
— Conservative MP Mike Wallace, vice-chair of the Commons committee
Contrary to popular belief, federal opposition parties are not the only members of Parliament who would like to see a little more accountability in how tax dollars are spent.
Earlier this month, the federal Commons committee released a report calling for more and better scrutiny of government spending and the annual federal budget by parliamentarians. As reported by The Canadian Press, the new report, from the all-party government operations committee, argues the federal budget arrives too late each year — and recommends the government instead table it by Feb. 1.
The persisting problem, say committee members, is that the government’s detailed spending blueprints, or “main estimates,” which speak to much of what the annual federal budget will look like, are released by March each year. But they take no account of the federal budget, which is generally released at about the same time. And what’s in the budget can significantly affect spending.
If the budget was tabled by Feb. 1 each year, at the latest, the two documents could be properly scrutinized and finally give politicians a fuller and more consistent picture of federal spending.
The committee also suggests MPs should consider giving the parliamentary budget officer more status and power to deliver essential financial data to members of Parliament. These are the key points of 16 recommendations listed in the report.
The substance of this report is timely, considering the fact that Stephen Harper’s government rammed through its omnibus budget bill, giving the committee and opposition parties little time to study it.
Supplementary estimates, which often are released after a budget has been tabled, were not given proper scrutiny by government committees because the session clock ran out. In fact, this spring not one House of Commons committee was able to report on its examination of any of the supplementary information.
“Parliament does not effectively fulfil its role and standing committees are at best giving perfunctory attention to the government’s spending plans,” the report states.
Curiously, this is not a new problem. The report notes that arcane House rules have prevented committee oversight for decades, as the procedures were designed to prevent any committee from holding up government business.
As voters, we elect our government representatives to help bring our concerns and priorities to the national level and to act in the country’s best interests, both financially and otherwise — at least that is the ideal.
But what is the point of forming committees when they’re not given enough time to do their jobs properly? Clearly the rules need to change. Improved committee oversight would help Harper keep his promise of being open and accountable to Canadians.
It was the Harper government, ironically, that first created the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal. Given the work conducted by the current budget officer, Kevin Page, it has been a welcome improvement and the Conservatives should be applauded for its creation.
However, we find ourselves in agreement with the committee report and its recommendations for expanded powers for the office. Page has often been the target of criticism by federal ministers for attempting to hold the government accountable, while at the same time he complained that federal departments refuse to hand over key financial information upon request.
Such displays of ministerial and departmental contempt for the budget officer are evidence of a greater and more pervasive contempt for public scrutiny of government action. The sheer volume of legislative changes that made up the omnibus budget bill speak to this administration’s lack of respect for parliamentary oversight.
While we applaud the committee and its report, we fear that the Tories will be loath to implement any of its recommendations. It will take a new government to do that, not one that has become comfortable with the status quo.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition July 16, 2012
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“We want some change. We will be keeping the government’s … feet to the fire on it to see if we can implement some of these changes.”
— Conservative MP Mike Wallace, vice-chair of the Commons committee
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“We want some change. We will be keeping the government’s … feet to the fire on it to see if we can implement some of these changes.”
— Conservative MP Mike Wallace, vice-chair of the Commons committee
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