Unaccountable

By Kevin Page

Subjects: Politics and government, Government accountability, Canada, Canada. Bureau du Directeur parlementaire du budget, Politique publique, Politique et gouvernement, Finance, public, accounting, Obligation de rendre compte (Administration publique), Political planning, Canada. Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada, politics and government

Description: In March 2008, Kevin Page was appointed by the federal Conservatives to be the country's first Parliamentary Budget Officer. The move fulfilled a Tory campaign promise to deliver greater government transparency and accountability. He was later denounced by the same people who appointed him to scrutinize their spending. When he challenged the government on several issues - most notably about the true costs of the F-35 fighter planes - and publicly claimed the government was misleading Canadians, Page was vilified. In this shocking insider's account, Page argues that democracy is being undermined by an increasingly autocratic government that does not respect facts that run counter to its political agenda - something Canadians should be concerned about.