OTTAWA — The Parliamentary Budget Officer is raising major concerns with the budget implementation bill the Liberal government introduced yesterday in the House of Commons. He was surprised there was no communication with his office, he said, even though the proposed law directly affects it. The requirement of approval from House of Commons and Senate speakers for an annual “work plan,” for one thing, raises big questions. I don’t know.”Unexpected events can happen, and the PBO may want to initiate a study on major government spending. Two big changes come with the bill: the PBO can access “information,” writ large, rather than just “data”; and it can seek such information from Crown corporations, not just departments.

Source: National Post April 12, 2017 18:24 UTC