There will not be a new permanent parliamentary budget officer when the budget is released this fall, the Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed.
On Sept. 2, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Jason Jacques, a director general in the budget watchdog’s office, as the interim PBO for the next six months.
In an email, PMO spokesperson Audrey Champoux said the interim PBO will still be in place for Carney’s first budget, which is expected to shed more light on
the government’s spending review
. Champoux noted that a permanent PBO will need to be approved by the House of Commons.
“I’d say we’ll take the time needed to make the best appointment,” Champoux said.
Jacques will replace Yves Giroux, who served a single seven-year term as PBO, and was credited with increasing the number of reports the office produced. In a departing message on LinkedIn, Giroux said he’s leaving the office with “a strong sense of accomplishment” after the PBO was ranked the top independent fiscal institution by the OECD last year.
“It has been a true honour to support Parliamentarians by providing them with objective, non-partisan information and analysis — made possible by the outstanding work of an exceptional team,” Giroux wrote.
Observers said the budget, which is expected in October, could reveal more details on how Carney will balance the operating budget and where his government will find up to 7.5 per cent savings in many departments and agencies.
In the recent election campaign, Carney said his government would split its ledger into capital and operating spending. He promised to balance the operating budget by 2028-29
while capping, but not cutting
the size of the federal public service. He also plans to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of this fiscal year.
Kevin Page, a former PBO and the president of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said that the appointment of Jacques comes at a time when the economy is slowing due to trade wars intiated by the United States and geo-political conflicts rage. As productivity growth slows and deficits and debt remain elevated after the COVID-19 pandemic, Page said “debate supported by good economic and financial analysis” provided by the PBO will be more important than ever.
“Mr. Jacques is taking on the role of PBO at a difficult time in our country’s history,” Page said. “As a taxpayer, I am glad that Mr. Jacques is Canada’s PBO.”
Page applauded the appointment of Jacques, describing him as “very competent and experienced.”
“Of all the people that have served as Parliamentary Budget Officer, I think it is safe to say he has the best resume (myself included),” he said in an email.
Page, who previously worked with Jacques, added that in “six months, it is a good bet, he will be the strongest candidate to be the PBO.”
Jacques
has extensive experience working on fiscal analysis at
the Treasury Board, the Privy Council Office and the Bank of Canada. He also worked at the PBO’s office in the early days of its creation. The parliamentary watchdog was set up in 2006 during the government of then-prime minister Stephen Harper.
Jacques declined an interview, but Sloane Mask, a PBO spokesperson, said that the new interim PBO “is focused on advancing the work plan laid out by Mr. Yves Giroux, ensuring consistent, non-partisan analysis and support to parliamentarians.”
