Latest News

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

International community watching Canada's PBO battle with interest, says Page

By: The Canadian Press

Posted: 02/21/2013 4:14 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 02/21/2013 6:14 PM

OTTAWA - Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says some international observers have expressed shock at the difficulties he's had in prying information from the government.

Officials from 22 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are holding their two-day annual meeting for the first time in Canada, sharing best practices and experiences in a fast-growing field.

Page, who is about to end his five-year term as Canada's first parliamentary budget officer, is taking the Conservative government to court over its refusal to release information on billions of dollars in department spending cuts.

Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States all gave presentations on accessing information at today's closed-door session and Page emerged to say his office has had the roughest ride.

The Congressional Budget Office in Washington has a relationship developed over decades with mid-level government officials that freely share government data, while the U.K.'s Office for Budget Responsibility in the U.K. says it has been "positively surprised" by its access demands.

Page said the international community is watching the Canadian experience with interest and he has been invited to help both the Slovak Republic and South Africa develop their budget offices as a result.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Latest News

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.