Parliament of Canada Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. P-1)

Marginal note:Cooperation

79.12 The Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Parliamentary Librarian shall take all reasonable steps to cooperate with each other to avoid any unnecessary duplication of resources and services provided to parliamentary committees and members of the Senate and the House of Commons.

Marginal note:Annual work plan

• 79.13 (1) Before each fiscal year, the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall prepare an annual work plan for that year that includes

  • (a) criteria for the allocation of resources to the various functions within the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s mandate;

  • (b) a list of matters of particular significance relating to the nation’s finances or economy that, in the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s opinion after consultation with the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, should be brought to the attention of the Senate and the House of Commons during the year; and

  • (c) a statement of the manner in which the Parliamentary Budget Officer intends to prioritize requests for his or her services from parliamentary committees and members of the Senate and the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Annual work plan updated

  (2) The Parliamentary Budget Officer may update the annual work plan as required during the fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Tabling of annual work plan

  (3) After the annual work plan has been provided to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, they shall each table it in the House over which he or she presides.

Marginal note:Mandate — Parliament not dissolved

• 79.2 (1) During periods when Parliament is not dissolved, the Parliamentary Budget Officer

  • (a) may prepare reports containing the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s analysis of any of the following federal government documents:

    • (i) a budget tabled by or on behalf of the Minister of Finance,

    • (ii) an economic and fiscal update or statement issued by the Minister of Finance,

    • (iii) a fiscal sustainability report issued by the Minister of Finance,

    • (iv) the estimates of the government for a fiscal year;

  • (b) may prepare reports on matters of particular significance relating to the nation’s finances or economy that are listed in an annual work plan;

  • (c) shall, if requested to do so by any of the following committees, undertake research into and analysis of matters relating to the nation’s finances or economy:

    • (i) the Standing Committee on National Finance of the Senate or, if there is not a Standing Committee on National Finance, the appropriate committee of the Senate,

    • (ii) the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons or, if there is not a Standing Committee on Finance, the appropriate committee of the House of Commons,

    • (iii) the Standing Committee on Public Accounts of the House of Commons or, if there is not a Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the appropriate committee of the House of Commons,

    • (iv) the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates of the House of Commons or, if there is not a Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the appropriate committee of the House of Commons;

  • (d) shall, if requested to do so by a committee of the Senate or of the House of Commons, or a committee of both Houses, that is mandated to consider the estimates of the government, undertake research into and analysis of those estimates;

  • (e) shall, if requested to do so by a committee of the Senate or of the House of Commons, or a committee of both Houses, estimate the financial cost of any proposal that relates to a matter over which Parliament has jurisdiction; and

  • (f) shall, if requested to do so by a member of the Senate or of the House of Commons, estimate the financial cost of any proposal that relates to a matter over which Parliament has jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Reports to be tabled

  (2) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall provide any report prepared under paragraph (1)(a) or (b) to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, who shall each table the report in the House over which he or she presides. The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall make the report available to the public one business day after the day on which the report is provided to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Request by committee

  (3) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall provide a report containing the research and analysis or estimate requested by a committee under paragraph (1)(c), (d) or (e) to the chair of the committee that requested it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall make the report available to the public one business day after the day on which the report is provided to the chair of the committee that requested it.

• Marginal note:Request by member

  (4) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall provide a report containing the estimate requested under paragraph (1)(f) to the member of the Senate or of the House of Commons who requested it. The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall make the report available to the public one business day after the day on which the report is provided to the member.

• Marginal note:If Parliament is dissolved

  (5) If Parliament is dissolved before a report is provided to the chair of the committee or to the member under subsection (3) or (4), the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall discontinue work on the request.

Marginal note:Mandate — general election

• 79.21 (1) During the period described in subsection (2), the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall, at the request of an authorized representative or a member, estimate the financial cost of any election campaign proposal that the authorized representative’s party or the member is considering making.

• Marginal note:Period

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the period begins on the 120th day before the date fixed under section 56.1 or 56.2 of the Canada Elections Act and ends on the day before the date of the next general election. However, if Parliament is dissolved before that 120th day, the period begins on the day on which Parliament is dissolved and ends on the day before the date of the next general election.

• Marginal note:Request

  (3) A request referred to in subsection (1) shall be made in writing and describe the proposal for which an estimate is requested, including relevant details and objectives.

• Marginal note:Additional information

  (4) The Parliamentary Budget Officer may, in writing, request additional information from an authorized representative of the party on behalf of which an estimate was requested or from the member who made a request for an estimate.

• Marginal note:Ministerial agreement

  (5) A minister who presides over a department within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition department in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act may, at the request of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, personally agree that his or her department will provide assistance to the Parliamentary Budget Officer in preparing estimates under subsection (1) during the period described in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (6) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall not disclose to a minister any information related to a request for an estimate under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Ministerial involvement

  (7) A minister who, under subsection (5), agrees that his or her department will provide assistance shall

  • (a) instruct his or her deputy to make any arrangements that his or her deputy considers necessary for the provision of the assistance, including, at the deputy’s discretion, arrangements respecting the terms under which the assistance is to be provided; and

  • (b) abstain from any personal involvement in the provision of the assistance.

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (8) If the Parliamentary Budget Officer makes a request to a deputy referred to in paragraph 7(a) for assistance in preparing an estimate under subsection (1), the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall not disclose to the deputy or any other person in the department the identity of the party on behalf of which the estimate was requested or the identity of the member who made the request for an estimate.

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (9) Except for the purposes of subsection (10), information that is obtained or created in the provision of assistance referred to in subsection (8) shall not be disclosed to any person other than the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

• Marginal note:Assistance of other departments

  (10) In order to provide assistance referred to in subsection (8), a person in a department may provide information to and obtain information from a person in another department if

  • (a) the other department is also a department within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the definition department in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act; and

  • (b) the minister who presides over the other department has also agreed to provide assistance under subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Withdrawal of request

  (11) An authorized representative of the party on behalf of which the estimate was requested or the member who made the request may withdraw it, in writing, before a report containing the estimate is provided to an authorized representative or the member. If a request is withdrawn, the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall discontinue work on the request and shall not disclose the request or the estimate.

• Marginal note:Report

  (12) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall provide a report containing the estimate to an authorized representative of the party on behalf of which the estimate was requested or to the member who made the request.

• Marginal note:Proposal publicly announced

  (13) An authorized representative of the party on behalf of which an estimate was requested or the member who made a request shall notify the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in writing, if the proposal for which the estimate is requested has been publicly announced.

• Marginal note:Report made public

  (14) The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall make a report available to the public as soon as feasible after the report has been provided to the authorized representative or the member under subsection (12) and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has been notified that the policy proposal has been publicly announced. However, the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall not make the report available to the public on or after the date of the general election.

• Marginal note:Estimate not completed

  (15) If, in the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s opinion, he or she does not have sufficient time or information to complete a requested estimate within the period described in subsection (2), the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall notify an authorized representative of the party on behalf of which the estimate was requested or the member who made the request, in writing, that he or she is discontinuing work on the estimate and that it will not be completed.

• Marginal note:Publication of request and statement

  (16) If the Parliamentary Budget Officer discontinues work on a request under subsection (15) and the request is for an estimate of the financial cost of a proposal that has been publicly announced, the Parliamentary Budget Officer shall, before the end of the period described in subsection (2), publish the request and a statement of the reasons why the request could not be completed.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (17) The following definitions apply in this section.

  authorized representative

  authorized representative means the leader of a recognized party in the House of Commons on the day before the first day of the period described in subsection (2) or a person authorized in writing by the leader for the purposes of this section. (représentant autorisé)

  member

  member means a person who is a member of the House of Commons on the day before the first day of the period described in subsection (2) but who is not a member of a recognized party on that day. (membre)

Marginal note:Annual report

79.22 The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, submit a report on his or her activities under sections 79.2 and 79.21 for that year to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, who shall each table the report in the House over which he or she presides. The Parliamentary Budget Officer shall not make the report available to the public before it has been tabled in either the Senate or the House of Commons.

Marginal note:Definitions

79.3 The following definitions apply in sections 79.4 to 79.5.

department

department has the same meaning as in any of paragraphs (a), (a.1) and (d) of the definition department in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act. (ministère)

head

head has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act. (responsable d’institution fédérale)

parent Crown corporation

parent Crown corporation has the same meaning as in subsection 83(1) of the Financial Administration Act. (société d’État mère)

Marginal note:Access to information

• 79.4 (1) Except as provided by any other Act of Parliament that expressly refers to this subsection, the Parliamentary Budget Officer is entitled, by request made to the head of a department or of a parent Crown corporation, to free and timely access to any information under the control of the department or parent Crown corporation that is required for the performance of his or her mandate.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of any information

  • (a) the disclosure of which is restricted under section 19 of the Access to Information Act;

  • (b) that is protected by solicitor-client privilege or professional secrecy of advocates and notaries or by litigation privilege;

  • (c) the disclosure of which is restricted under any provision of any other Act of Parliament set out in Schedule II to the Access to Information Act; or

  • (d) that is a confidence of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as defined in subsection 39(2) of the Canada Evidence Act.

Marginal note:Refusal to provide access to information

79.41 If he or she refuses to provide access to information requested under subsection 79.4(1), the deputy minister of the department concerned or the person who occupies any other similar position for the federal institution or parent Crown corporation, as the case may be, shall provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer with a written justification for the refusal.

Marginal note:Notification

79.42 If the Parliamentary Budget Officer is of the opinion that he or she has not been provided with free or timely access to information requested under subsection 79.4(1), he or she may so notify the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons or any appropriate committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament.