Goodales answer to 'better surplus predictions' (en francais)

When the Liberal's were in their 'desperate to stay in power' mode, they agreed to amendments to the throne speech.

From a Hill Times article: (subscription only)

Last fall, the opposition parties managed to add five amendments to the Throne Speech, including the creation of an independent Parliamentary Budget Office "to give regular advice on the fiscal forecasts of the government of Canada."

The idea is widely popular not only with the opposition parties, but with economists who have regularly criticized the Liberal government for consistently miss-forecasting its budget surplus.

In its February budget, the government said it expected to be $3-billion in the black, just enough for contingency expenses. But this month, the government announced that its coffers are overflowing with $8-billion in extra cash for the 2004-05 fiscal year ending March 31.

For some strange reason, the Liberals are now resistant to setting up such an office. Seems like Finance Minister Goodale's answer to a more transparent accounting of the Canadian taxpayer dollars is - simply spend more money to make your predictions accurate.

Canada's incredibly shrinking surplus