Budget Watchdog Offers Mixed Review of Ottawa’s New Budgetary Framework

Budget Watchdog Offers Mixed Review of Ottawa’s New Budgetary Framework
Jason Jacques, interim parliamentary budget officer, prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 25, 2025. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
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The parliamentary budget watchdog is welcoming the Liberal government’s decision to shift the release of its budgets to the fall from now on, but says its new definition of capital spending is “overly expansive.”

Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Jason Jacques summarized his “initial observations” on Ottawa’s new budgetary framework in an Oct. 7 report. The PBO welcomes moving the federal budget release date to the fall, ahead of the new fiscal year, the report says.