Canadian MPs in the dark about the billions in Conservative government spending

by Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, July 16, 2012:

Now we know why Treasury Board President Tony Clement did not think twice before spending $50-million of G8 funds in his Muskoka riding. Why Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page threatened to sue the Harper government for refusing to comply with his repeated requests for financial and related information.  Now we know why some of the Conservative Government’s publicized spending figures are always untrue. Why sometimes they are millions of dollars below the actual figures.

The latest report by Parliament’s Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates tells us that “arcane rules are keeping MPs in the dark about the billions in government spending they should be scrutinizing.”

New Democrat Pat Martin chairs the Committee.

The Globe and Mail explains of the report, which was “released without fanfare”:

“Members of Parliament receive conflicting, outdated information about how billions of tax dollars are being spent each year, and get little opportunity to review fiscal plans. Just this spring, not a single House of Commons committee was able to report on its examination of some proposed spending because the information arrived too late — and the session clock ran out.”

The report: http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=5690996&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1

Is it a consolation that the report is titled: “Strengthening Parliamentary Scrutiny of Estimates and Supply”? That the Committee proposes 16 steps to improve transparency and accountability?

All the 16 recommendations are HERE.

The Canadian Progressive recommends:

• Kevin Page To Sue Harper Government Over $5.2 Billion In Budget Cuts
• Ethical Oil Orders Canada Revenue Agency to Investigate the David Suzuki Foundation
• Robo-Gate: Harper Conservatives stole the 2011 election from the NDP