Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux has “no idea” who will be taking over his job when his term ends next month.
Giroux, who took on the job in 2018, will mark his final day on September 2.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Giroux said he’s reached out to the Privy Council Office multiple times for information over the last few months, noting that he wants to ensure an “orderly and smooth” transition.
He says the government has kept “quiet” and has told him there’s no news yet to share.
“I’m just a bit surprised that they haven’t done anything,” Giroux said.
Asked if he might stay in the role past Sept. 2, Giroux said he hadn’t heard anything about a possible extension.
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The Parliamentary Budget Officer is an agent of Parliament who provides independent economic and financial analysis to the Senate and House of Commons.
Giroux said it concerns him that a new Parliamentary Budget Officer has not yet been named, especially with a budget planned for the fall. He said parliamentarians rely on his office to provide them with non-partisan analysis and information.
Giroux said the government is soon scheduled to table a budget that could include “significant new spending and policy priorities” and reductions.
He says parliamentarians will be in “desperate need” of a non-partisan view on that budget and its impact on the federal government and the Canadian economy.
“It would be unfortunate and it would happen at a very unfortunate critical time in the budget cycle for parliamentarians,” Giroux said.
Giroux said the Prime Minister’s Office recommends an appointment and senior staff in the Privy Council Office handle the vetting and interviews if they choose to undergo a competitive process.
The government could select an interim PBO at any time by order-in-council but an appointment for a full, seven-year mandate needs to be approved by the House of Commons and the Senate, he said.
MPs are set to return to the House of Commons for the fall sitting in mid-September.
The Canadian Press has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Privy Council Office for comment but has not yet received a response.
Giroux said he can understand the delay, given that the Prime Minister’s Office has been busy managing Canada-U.S. relations and recently hosted the G7 summit.
Still, he said that when he was appointed, the approval was made a full two months before the position became vacant.
“I had a few months to talk to my predecessor and start getting ready,” Giroux said.
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