Enter the librarian

A statement from the office of Sonia L’Heureux, the parliamentary librarian and interim parliamentary budget officer, on yesterday’s Federal Court decision.

Sonia L’Heureux, the Parliamentary Budget Officer on an interim basis, is pleased that the Federal Court of Canada has rendered a timely decision regarding the questions raised by the PBO in responding to Mr. Mulcair’s request for analysis.

In its decision, the Federal Court has said that the statutory mandate of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) includes estimating the financial cost of any proposal that relates to a matter over which Parliament has jurisdiction when requested to do so by a member of the Senate or House of Commons.

In light of the Court’s decision, the PBO intends to request the information required in order to respond to the request from Mr. Thomas Mulcair, M.P. We expect that the requested information will be duly provided by the government departments and agencies. If a dispute arises, the Court has said it will be available to assist with its resolution.

This is the request that hadn’t been officially made—Kevin Page was asking the court to determine whether his mandate entitled him to such documents before making the request of the government. The court essentially ruled that it couldn’t rule in the absence of such a request. Mr. Mulcair’s reading yesterday of a larger victory might now be tested.