DND and CAF ‘exempt’ from further spending cuts, says Blair after department was asked to find $900-million a year in savings
Feds looking to find $15.8-billion in savings through ‘Refocus Government Spending’ initiative as pressure mounts for Canada to boost defence spending.
House filibuster is putting money for military, dental care, and keeping the government lights on at risk
Treasury Board President Anita Anand says departments are ‘okay for the next three to four weeks’ if a vote on supplementary estimates is delayed by the House standoff.
Feds request $24.8-billion boost as Liberals double down on budget 2024 pledges in latest estimates
A quarter of new spending in the latest estimates is tied to the 2024 federal budget with big-ticket items for Indigenous Services and National Defence. But some programs like pharmacare and the Canada Disability Benefit are yet to be funded.
New government spending request will be snared in parliamentary gridlock while privilege debate persists
The Liberals can carry on without a supply bill for a few months, but responding to new pressures will be ‘trickier,’ says PBO Yves Giroux. If the gridlock persists to spring, government will come to ‘a screeching halt.’
Conservative filibuster costing millions of dollars, say NDP and Green MPs
The impasse in Parliament is now in its fourth week as Conservatives continue to demand the feds release unreacted SDTC documents to RCMP.
Senators praise PBO report to release ‘crucial’ public accounts earlier, but government reluctant to commit to changes
Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says all political parties should consider including the recommendations in their election platforms.
MPs sound alarm over threat of losing ‘invaluable’ tool for fiscal oversight
The Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation is seeking $4.5-million over three years to continue training elected officials on how to scrutinize the annual Public Accounts.
Ten parliamentary committees forgo scrutiny of $25-billion in spending estimates
The House Foreign Affairs Committee also didn’t finish its review of $8.5-billion of planned spending.
Rising public debt costs form large share of feds’ latest $12.7-billion spending plan
Total released spending plans now sit at $461.8-billion, or 90 per cent of the amount outlined in the April budget for 2024-25. That percentage is on pace with the last two years by this time, but both years the Liberals surpassed their budget plans by billions of dollars.
It’s difficult to ‘follow the money’: former MPs, bureaucrats, and PBOs say budget and estimates process makes it tough for Parliament to hold government spending to account
As the government prepares to table its budget in April, individual MPs and Senators have ‘very little influence’ on spending, says Parliamentary Budget Office Yves Giroux.
