Harper Government's "saving measure". How #CPC "balance" the budget!
Paul Wells@InklessPW
The PBO went to court to get this information from the Conservatives. No luck. The Liberals just posted it.
The PBO went to court to get this information from the Conservatives. No luck. The Liberals just posted it.
Re: PBO Information Request IR0080
Dear Mr. Fréchette:
Your predecessor, Mr. Kevin Page, wrote to the government on several occasions to request information on the broad cuts announced in the previous government's Deficit Reduction Action Plan in Budget 2012. Unfortunately that information, to the extent it was available, was not disclosed to your office by the previous government.
Our Government is committed to setting a higher bar for openness and transparency. We are guided by the principle that government data belongs to all Canadians. With that in mind, please find enclosed further program level details. As part of my mandate to improve the effectiveness of the public service, I am looking to improve the measurements of outcomes and service levels in government.
I thank you for your service to Canadians and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss how we can work more collaboratively in responding to your information requests.
Respectfully,
The Honourable Scott Brison, P.C., M.P.
Strategic and Operating Review
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ip-pi/trans/sor-esf-eng.asp?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=news&utm_term=wire&utm_content=release&utm_campaign=soar
Page wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday, but Khan pointed out that the PBO originally also requested information on the service level impacts of the cuts, making Friday’s release a positive — but partial — step forward.
“These were not included in today’s disclosure,” wrote Khan, now also with Page at the University of Ottawa, in an email Friday. “This is troubling because the collection of such information is subject to Treasury Board policy and integral to the government’s reporting to Parliament via the Report on Plans & Priorities (RPP) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPR).
“Further, at the time, certain deputy ministers assured the PBO that there would be no service level impacts from the implementation of the DRAP measures,” wrote Khan. “If departments weren’t tracking such information, then one might question the basis of these assertions or the government’s reporting to Parliament itself.”
Years later, Page gets a partial picture of Harper budget cuts
"Treasury Board President Scott Brison published previously undisclosed details Friday on the extent of budget cuts during the Harper government years, reversing the former Conservative government’s policy of keeping vital information hidden from the public and from former Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Kevin Page.
Page wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday, but Khan pointed out that the PBO originally also requested information on the service level impacts of the cuts, making Friday’s release a positive — but partial — step forward.
“These were not included in today’s disclosure,” wrote Khan, now also with Page at the University of Ottawa, in an email Friday. “This is troubling because the collection of such information is subject to Treasury Board policy and integral to the government’s reporting to Parliament via the Report on Plans & Priorities (RPP) and Departmental Performance Reports (DPR).
“Further, at the time, certain deputy ministers assured the PBO that there would be no service level impacts from the implementation of the DRAP measures,” wrote Khan. “If departments weren’t tracking such information, then one might question the basis of these assertions or the government’s reporting to Parliament itself.”
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