The parliamentary budget watchdog is welcoming the Liberal government’s decision to shift the release of its budgets to the fall from now on, but says its new definition of capital spending is “overly expansive.”
Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Jason Jacques summarized his “initial observations” on Ottawa’s new budgetary framework in an Oct. 7 report. The PBO welcomes moving the federal budget release date to the fall, ahead of the new fiscal year, the report says.
“This will allow for better alignment between the budget and the Main Estimates and ensure that parliamentarians have a more comprehensive federal spending plan before they are asked to approve money for the new fiscal year,” the PBO wrote….