New documents filed in Federal Court show that lawyers for the Speaker of the House of Commons and Speaker of the Senate will now participate in the case to protect the jurisdictional rights of Parliament.
Lawyers for the two speakers and the Attorney General of Canada are expected to argue in court in March that it’s up to Parliament — not the federal court — to determine the mandate of the parliamentary budget officer.
The attorney general, in court earlier this month, failed in its bid to have the PBO’s case dismissed. Arguments for the case will be heard in Ottawa on March 21 and 22.
The PBO has asked the Federal Court to clarify its mandate and whether it has the jurisdiction to access details — as requested by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair — of the $5.2 billion in budget reductions over the next few years, including the impacts on jobs and services to Canadians. The PBO is not, however, seeking any court order demanding the release of any specific documents.
Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page believes it’s within the PBO’s mandate to review the impacts of cuts contained in the federal budget, while the Conservative government argues the PBO’s job is to review federal expenditures — not dollars it has decided not to spend.
The speakers of the House of Commons and Senate — who were invited to participate in the proceedings — have now stepped in to protect what they believe is the jurisdiction of Parliament, and not the courts, to determine the PBO’s mandate.
“The Speaker is participating to protect the constitutional independence of the House,” said Heather Bradley, spokeswoman for House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer, in an email Wednesday.
“It is his responsibility to protect the rights of the House as an institution and to ensure that these rights are not inadvertently eroded,” she added.
“The Speakers’ role is to protect the place of Parliament within the Constitution and, where the constitutional independence of the House may be at risk, the Speaker has the constitutional responsibility to protect the House of Commons’ independence.”
In the PBO’s reference application to the court, Page named Mulcair as a respondent. The NDP leader initially asked Page in November to assess whether the government’s planned budget reductions are “achievable” and to estimate the impact they could have on Canadians.
Page said at the time he was hampered by the confusion over his mandate and would go to court to determine whether he could access the information and conduct the analysis.
Paul Champ, lawyer for Mulcair in the case, argued Wednesday that Page is taking a “prudent course” by going to court to ask for an interpretation of the statutes on the PBO’s mandate, as laid out in the Parliament of Canada Act.
“The Department of Justice is arguing basically that Parliament should be interpreting the law, rather than the courts,” Champ said in an interview.
“I think the courts definitely have jurisdiction to give an interpretation of the provisions governing the PBO’s mandate. I think it’s unfortunate that the government is opposing that. A clear answer, according to the law, will benefit everybody.”
The Harper government’s 2006 Federal Accountability Act amended the Parliament of Canada Act to create the PBO, which is an officer of the Library of Parliament.
The PBO has been a constant thorn in the government’s side, including with independent analysis on the costs of the F-35 fighter jets, crime legislation and financial impacts on the provinces from changes to federal health-care funding.
Page’s five-year appointment expires on March 25. The federal cabinet appoints the parliamentary budget officer from a list of three names submitted by a committee formed and chaired by the parliamentary librarian. Earlier this month, the Library of Parliament started looking for an executive search firm.
The ongoing feud with the federal government has some observers, and even Page, wondering whether the Conservatives will appoint another budget officer, reform its mandate or look to eliminate the office.
“All my fingers and toes are crossed that we’ve demonstrated to Parliament, to media, to Canadians, that there’s value in the work that we do,” Page said Wednesday in an interview.
“What’s in it for the government to have a legislated budget officer doing this kind of work? A lot of people would say, perhaps including myself, ‘not much.’ But if you reframe the question, ‘What’s in it for Parliament, what’s in it for Canadians?’ — you get a lot. A lot is at stake.”
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jason Fekete
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