Canada’s new PBO may go to courts for budget information

Jean-Denis Fréchette, Canada's new Parliamentary Budget Officer, says that he may continue what his predecessors started — he may take the Harper government to court to force federal departments to provide his office with documentation about the impact of budget cuts.

In an interview with Maclean's Aaron Wherry, Frechette said that it's "a viable option."

"The door is open. And this is my clear position," the PBO said.

"I will not hesitate to go back to court if need be. The situation right now is that I have already consulted with the legal counsel."

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Upon the introduction of Budget 2012, several government departments have refused to provide the PBO with cost-cutting data, arguing that the office's mandate was to review government expenditures, not what they didn't spend.

With the urging of NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, former PBO Kevin Page went to the courts last fall, asking for clarification on his legal rights to demand the government turn over information.

According to the Canadian Press, Justice Sean Harrington ultimately dismissed Page's application but said that the PBO "still has recourse to the courts" if the information was refused.

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In June, the PBO released a report saying that they still hadn't received all the information.

Fréchette — undertook his job earlier this month — now says that he'll go to court but wants to exhaust all parliamentary remedies first.

"I want to make sure that if I go back as PBO to the court, if the judge asks me questions about did you complain to the parliamentary librarian, did you complain to the Speaker, did you complain to the committee … I want to make sure that I can say, yes, I did," he said to Maclean's.

"And therefore the door doesn’t close right there. So that’s my position right now. The door is open to go back to court. Maybe there is some work with Parliament to be done. I will not be patient. I will be tolerant, but I will not be patient."

Ipolitics reports that the list of departments refusing to hand over information include the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Finance Canada and National Defence.

(Photo courtesy of www.parl.gc.ca)

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