Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, January 21, 2013

‘Time is running out’ to replace Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page, opposition warns

OTTAWA—Opposition parties are calling on the government to speed up the process to replace the parliamentary watchdog, or at the very least extend the current appointment until a replacement is found.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page is two months from the end of his five-year term, and the government has given no indication when it will announce a replacement.

On Sunday, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking the government to extend Page’s appointment until a replacement is found “for the sake of accountability.”

“Given the importance of the Parliamentary Budget Officer to the work of parliamentarians, I believe it would be sensible to extend Mr. Page’s appointment until such time as a thorough, transparent and competitive search for his replacement can be completed and a new PBO appointed,” Mulcair wrote.

“It is crucial that parliamentarians, who are responsible in the coming months for providing oversight on the government’s annual budget, continue to have access to the PBO’s valuable advice.”

Should Page not be replaced on time, there’s a possibility that parliamentarians will “be deprived” of key information needed to make spending decisions, said Liberal MP John McCallum.

“It’s important to replace him and time is running out,” said McCallum, the Liberal Treasury Board critic. “If they don’t have an official replacement by the time his term ends … the only option is an interim PBO, which I guess is better than nothing.”

Under the government’s 2006 Federal Accountability Act that created the PBO, the government can select a candidate from a list of three names submitted from a committee formed and chaired by the parliamentary librarian. The Parliament of Canada Act doesn’t provide a timeline for when the replacement process has to take place.

The Hill Times has reported that Page was asked to update the qualifications for the position in September. Earlier this month, the Library of Parliament started looking for an executive search firm.

When the position was first created, the Library of Parliament hired an executive search firm in August 2007 to find qualified candidates. After interviews in December of that year, the list of three names was given to the government on Dec. 21, 2007. Page’s appointment was announced in March 2008.

A spokesman for Treasury Board President Tony Clement said Sunday that Page’s position “will be filled in due course following a thorough process.”

The Tories created Page’s job in the Federal Accountability Act, tasking Page with analyzing budget information, financial forecasts and the state of the Canadian economy. Since its creation, Page has battled the government and Parliament about his projections, mandate and powers, making him a consistent bane for the Conservatives on a number of spending files, including the replacement of the CF-18 fighter jets and the Old Age Security program.

In December, Page told Global’s The West Block that there appeared to be no interest in replacing him.

“There will need to be some type of an extension, if not for me for somebody in my office appointed indirectly,” Page said at the time. “I’ve got no sense right now that there’s any momentum to replace me come March.”

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jordan Press

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