BILI Committee Report

Recommendation 1

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons direct the Parliamentary Budget Officer to respect the provisions of the Act establishing his position within the Library of Parliament. The Parliamentary Budget Officer reports to the Parliamentary Librarian and, as a senior official of the Library, it is his responsibility to participate fully in management activities and to work closely with the Library’s other service areas.

Recommendation 2

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons request the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament to evaluate the effectiveness of the position of the Parliamentary Budget Officer commencing on the third anniversary of his appointment.

Recommendation 3

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons ask the Parliamentary Budget Officer to provide them with an action plan describing how he intends to carry out all of the duties mandated under the Act, and that this plan be submitted for review by the Joint Committee of the Library of Parliament.

Recommendation 4

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons ask the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Budget Officer to standardize their service agreements with the parliamentarians and committees.

Recommendation 5

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons direct the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Budget Officer to collaborate and coordinate their activities regarding the review of government estimates and the evaluation of the financial cost of any proposal relating to a matter over which Parliament has jurisdiction.

Recommendation 6

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons instruct the Parliamentary Budget Officer that a response to a request made by a parliamentarian or a parliamentary committee in accordance with the legislated mandate shall remain confidential, until the confidentiality is lifted by the parliamentarian or the parliamentary committee making the request.

Recommendation 7

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons direct the Parliamentary Budget Officer not to release any report during a general election.

Recommendation 8

That, on the understanding that any increase of the budget of the Parliamentary Budget Officer is conditional on compliance with all other recommendations in this report, after due process and validation, the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Librarian, submit to the Treasury Board a proposal to increase the budget of the Parliamentary Budget Officer for 2009–2010 to $2.8 million, without reducing the current financial resources of the rest of the Library of Parliament.

Recommendation 9

In order to justify future increases in the budget allocation of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, that the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons instruct the Parliamentary Budget Officer to establish a management system similar to the one already in place within the Library of Parliament for all requests from parliamentarians and committees.

Recommendation 10

That the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons mandate the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament to take on a larger role in examining funding proposals from the Library of Parliament by developing a procedure whereby the Library’s main and supplementary estimates are submitted to the Joint Committee for oversight and advice in advance of tabling.