The end of the Kevin Page Era

Friends and co-workers were due to gather at a restaurant in downtown Ottawa this evening to toast the end of Kevin Page’s time as Parliamentary Budget Officer. Officially, Mr. Page’s term ends on Monday.

In a tweet this evening, Thomas Mulcair offered thanks.

A sincere “Thank You” to Kevin Page. In a most difficult job, he doggedly served Cdns with integrity

Colin Horgan considers Mr. Page and the Federal Court proceedings that continued today.

So, maybe the context of the PBO’s saga should be this: Whether we all grasp the finer details of the PBO’s mandate clarification or not, it feels that if we’ve come to the point where the government has to sit in court arguing against a financial oversight office it once created, it might be time for us to consider how well we want our institutions kept, and what we consider to be the value of our public service. Or, whether we put any value in it at all.

Here is my exit interview with Mr. Page. Here is Pat Martin’s speech to a gathering of the OECD budget officers last month. And here, here and here is what I wrote last month about the Kevin Page Era and the future of the PBO.

And before departing, Mr. Page talks to the Globe.