Conservatives to vote against Liberals' fiscal watchdog nominee
Posted on: Mar 24, 2026 01:20 IST | Posted by: Cbc
conservativist MPs say they're voting against the progressive government's nominee for the federal soldier financial guard dog.
The Liberals announced senior public servant Annette Ryan as their choice for the next parliamentary budget officer (PBO) last week.
But Conservative MP Sandra Cobena told reporters on Monday that the job should go to Jason Jacques, who had held the PBO role temporarily starting in September. She accused the Liberals of trying to "muzzle" the former interim PBO.
"This is not about the current nominee. This is about the fact that Mr. Jacques, the former PBO, is being removed," she said on Parliament Hill.
"There's no credible reason to remove him and not appoint him permanently."
Ryan is set to appear before the House finance committee on Monday as part of her nomination process. Before she can take up the permanent post she first must be confirmed by a vote in both the House of Commons and the Senate.
Ryan has held a number of senior positions across government, most recently as a deputy director at Fintrac, Canada's financial intelligence unit and anti-money-laundering agency. She was previously associate assistant deputy minister for Finance Canada and chief economist and director general of economic research and policy analysis for Industry Canada.
PBOs can serve a maximum of two seven-year terms in the role, but previous people who have held the position did not serve more than one term.
The last permanent budget officer, Yves Giroux, ended his term in September of last year. On his last day in office the Carney government announced Jacques would serve as the interim PBO for six months — his term ended in early March.
Jacques's tenure got off to a bumpy start when he was criticized for a controversial appearance before a parliamentary committee in September. He described the health of Canada's federal finances as "stupefying," "shocking" and "unsustainable."
Conservatives have been calling for Jacques to be given the full-time gig because of his early criticisms of the government.
When the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued its report on the PBO last month, it pointed to that performance as evidence that the PBO needs to improve how it communicates its findings going forward.
Jacques remains on staff at the PBO.
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