On Thursday September 26th, the Saskatchewan Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives will be presenting a night with former Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Kevin Page at the University of Regina. Mr. Page’s tenure as the first PBO in Canada was an experiment in fiscal transparency that Canadians have rarely seen. Under Mr. Page, the PBO consistently challenged the government’s representation of the nation’s finances, disputing the government’s deficit projections, contesting the true cost of the war in Afghanistan and most famously, exposing the real cost of the government’s proposed F-35 fighter jet procurement.
Called an “unlikely enforcer” and a “latter-day folk hero to the average taxpayer,” Kevin Page’s term in office allowed Canadians to scrutinize the fiscal decisions of our government and gave us a level of financial accountability that served to empower the average Canadian citizen. Reflecting on his tenure, Page laments, "Canada's Parliament is losing its capacity to hold the government to account. There are negative implications for prosperity and democracy. I am sorry if I sound brash, but we need to wake up. There is a lot at stake."
We hope you can join us for an evening with this important public servant!
Thursday, September 26th, 7pm
Education Auditorium, University of Regina
Admission is Free, Donations are Welcome
For more information, contact the Saskatchewan Office.