The former Parliamentary Budget Officer for the Government of Canada says these are very scary times, no matter where you
are in the world.
Kevin Page, who regularly butted heads with politicians in the Harper government during his 5 years as PBO, says it’s been decades since the world has been this dangerous.
Page, speaking in Belleville today (Saturday), points to war, terrorism, lethal natural disasters, and all kinds of economic problems around the globe.
Page said these were times that required strong institutions lead by strong, visionary leaders.
Right now, he says there are only weak institutions and weak, if not dangerous or laughable, leaders.
Speaking at the Maranatha Church at an event organized by the Canadian Federation of University Women, Page slammed the way
government works.
As Parliamentary Budget Officer, he was repeatedly told by senior politicians and higher ups in the public service not to bother issuing in depth analysis on what programs were actually costing.
Page said the Harper government didn’t seem to want him to do his job, and was only interested in selling whatever it thought the public might like.
He pointed to the F-35 fighter jet program which in reality was much more expensive than the government ever let on.
Page added there are secrets in every nook and cranny of government, whether on the political side or among the staff.
He was careful to say that he had voted for every major political party over the years, and would have ruffled the feathers of the Liberals or the NDP, had they been in office during his tenure.
Looking to the south, Page told the crowd that the current American Presidential campaign was ugly and warned that Canada’s political system could easily go down that path as well.
He was cautiously optimistic about the Trudeau government’s so called “politics of optimism” saying he hoped the NDP and Conservatives would select strong, modern leaders.
He believes these challenging times are also times of opportunity and urged younger leaders to continue to welcome newcomers with open arms to Canada and to continue to invest in education to change politics, the economy, and society for the better, or else.
Page has authored a book about his time as Parliamentary Budget Officer, entitled “Unaccountable: Truth and Lies on Parliament Hill.”
