The federal government’s nominee for the role of budget watchdog says she will avoid “hyperbolic language” and serve just one term in the position to help maintain the independence of the office, as opposition MPs continued to question why the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO) was passed over for the permanent job.
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Earlier this month, the government nominated senior public servant Annette Ryan for the role , which provides independent financial and economic analysis to members of the House of Commons and Senate.
Ryan, who most recently worked as deputy director in the government’s financial intelligence unit, is a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Oxford University.
Her nomination must be confirmed by the House of Commons and Senate, but Ryan is positioned to take over from Jason Jacques, who recently wrapped up his six-month term as interim PBO and still works in the office.
Ryan’s nomination — and Jacques’ apparent snub — has caused opposition MPs to rally behind Jacques and accuse the government of muzzling him for criticizing its spending plans.
At a Commons finance committee meeting on Monday, March 23, Ryan defended her independence and stressed that the PBO serves parliamentarians and not the government.
She highlighted a long career in the public service under leaders of all political stripes, including time spent under former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper.
“Nobody’s agenda gets carried if you hit the fiscal wall,” Ryan said.
In a public statement after her nomination, Canada’s first PBO, Kevin Page, said Ryan was an “excellent” choice.
Conservatives back former interim watchdog
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the government to keep Jacques in the role full-time .
At the meeting on Monday, Ryan faced questions from Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs about the period when she and Mark Carney were both at Oxford, as well as her views on criticizing the government’s budgetary direction.
Ryan said she knew Carney while working on her master’s degree in economics at Oxford, but they had different social circles.
Years later, the two had a “positive” working relationship when he was governor of the Bank of Canada and she was chief economist at Industry Canada, she said.
“I typically dealt with his office rather than the governor himself,” she said. “And that was really where our professional paths crossed.”
A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked Canada’s PBO as best among its peers, but also raised concerns over delays in the appointment process and the potential for the PBO to pull punches in hopes of earning a second seven-year term on the job.
Ryan said the office’s independence is fundamental to its credibility and committed to serving just one term in the interest of maintaining integrity “100 per cent beyond reproach.”
“I believe there are certain accountability roles in the senior public service that should not be eligible for reappointment,” she said.
Ryan to avoid ‘hyperbolic language’
During the meeting, Conservative MPs routinely referenced comments Jacques made early in his tenure, when he referred to the state of the government’s finances as “shocking” and “stupefying.”
Jacques later walked back his language in an interview with The Canadian Press, calling his choice of words “totally unnecessary”.
Conservative MP Eric Lefebvre questioned whether Jacques’ pointed criticism of the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio ultimately lost him the job.
“When you have a competent person who meets all the criteria, you hang onto them,” Lefebvre said in French.
“Maybe (he lost the job) because Mr. Jacques showed courage.”
Ryan said she has a “huge degree” of respect for Jacques and intends to continue analyzing the government’s fiscal situation.
“I have the courage to continue that work,” she said.
Bloc MP Jean-Denis Garon asked Ryan what she made of a Liberal minister using the phrase “economic apocalypse” during question period.
“I will do my best to not use hyperbolic language,” she said.
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