Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer
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Budget 2023: Issues for Parliamentarians

Robert Behrend ; Jill Giswold ; Nora Nahornick ; Caroline Nicol ; Kaitlyn Vanderwees
Published on April 13, 2023 PDF(opens a new window)

To assist parliamentarians in their budgetary deliberations, this report highlights key issues arising from Budget 2023.

PDF

Communications

Quotes

  • This was the first time since Budget 2021 that the Government revised down its outlook for the budgetary balance prior to including new measures. Following this downward revision, the Government announced $69.7 billion in new spending that was partially financed by $14.0 billion in revenue raising measures and by $12.8 billion in spending restraint measures.

  • Budget 2023 does not provide an assessment of program effectiveness that the Government launched in last year’s budget under its comprehensive Strategic Policy Review, nor in my view does it identify opportunities to save and reallocate resources to adapt government programs and operations to a new post-pandemic reality.

  • Despite this increase, the Government has reaffirmed the commitment to its fiscal anchor of reducing the federal debt as a share of the economy over the medium term.

Yves Giroux
Parliamentary Budget Officer

News Release

{"id":48,"created_at":"2023-04-11T14:18:04-04:00","updated_at":"2023-04-13T08:57:11-04:00","slug":"pbo-releases-independent-assessment-of-budget-2023-le-dpb-publie-une-evaluation-independante-du-budget-de-2023","title_en":"PBO releases independent assessment of Budget 2023","title_fr":"Le DPB publie une \u00e9valuation ind\u00e9pendante du budget de 2023","body_en":"The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) today released his assessment of Budget 2023. The PBO\u2019s report highlights key issues arising from Budget 2023 to assist parliamentarians in their budgetary deliberations.\n\nRevisions to the private sector economic outlook and fiscal developments in Budget 2023 lower the Government\u2019s outlook for the budgetary balance by $26.1 billion over 2022-23 to 2027-28 relative to its 2022 Fall Economic Statement.\n\n\u201cThis was the first time since Budget 2021 that the Government revised down its outlook for the budgetary balance prior to including new measures. Following this downward revision, the Government announced $69.7 billion in new spending that was partially financed by $14.0 billion in revenue raising measures and by $12.8 billion in spending restraint measures,\u201d says PBO Yves Giroux.\n\nThe PBO\u2019s report mentions the cancellation of the $9 billion comprehensive Strategic Policy Review launched in last year\u2019s budget. \u201cBudget 2023 does not provide an assessment of program effectiveness that the Government launched in last year\u2019s budget under its comprehensive Strategic Policy Review, nor in my view does it identify opportunities to save and reallocate resources \u2018to adapt government programs and operations to a new post-pandemic reality\u2019,\u201d adds Mr. Giroux.\n\nBudget 2023 did, however, announce the introduction of \u201ccross-government program effectiveness reviews,\u201d with the first review examining \u201cskills training and youth programming\u201d to determine \u201cwhether improvements can be made\u201d and proposed to reduce spending on items such as consulting, other profession services and travel.\n\nBased on the outlook in Budget 2023, the federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to increase temporarily, remaining above its 2022-23 level for two years, before gradually declining over the medium term. \u201cDespite this increase, the Government has reaffirmed the commitment to its fiscal anchor of reducing the federal debt as a share of the economy over the medium term,\u201d adds Mr. Giroux.","body_fr":"Le directeur parlementaire du budget (DPB) a publi\u00e9 aujourd\u2019hui son \u00e9valuation du budget de 2023. Dans cette \u00e9valuation, il r\u00e9v\u00e8le les principales consid\u00e9rations que suscite le budget afin d\u2019aider les parlementaires dans leurs d\u00e9lib\u00e9rations budg\u00e9taires.\n\nEn raison des r\u00e9visions des perspectives \u00e9conomiques du secteur priv\u00e9 et de l\u2019\u00e9volution de la situation financi\u00e8re, les pr\u00e9visions du gouvernement quant \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9quilibre budg\u00e9taire sont r\u00e9duites de 26,1 milliards de dollars sur la p\u00e9riode 2022-2023 \u00e0 2027-2028 par rapport \u00e0 l\u2019\u00c9nonc\u00e9 \u00e9conomique de l\u2019automne 2022.\n\n\u00ab C\u2019\u00e9tait la premi\u00e8re fois depuis le budget de 2021 que le gouvernement corrige \u00e0 la baisse ses pr\u00e9visions d\u2019\u00e9quilibre budg\u00e9taire avant d\u2019inclure de nouvelles mesures. \u00c0 la suite de cette r\u00e9vision \u00e0 la baisse, le gouvernement a annonc\u00e9 69,7 milliards de dollars en nouvelles d\u00e9penses, financ\u00e9s en partie par 14,0 milliards de dollars d\u2019augmentation des recettes et par 12,8 milliards de dollars de mesures de restriction des d\u00e9penses \u00bb, a affirm\u00e9 le DPB .\n\nDans son rapport, le DPB souligne que l\u2019examen exhaustif des politiques strat\u00e9giques de 9 milliards de dollars lanc\u00e9 dans le budget de l\u2019ann\u00e9e derni\u00e8re a \u00e9t\u00e9 annul\u00e9. \u00ab Le budget de 2023 ne contient pas l\u2019\u00e9valuation de l\u2019efficacit\u00e9 des programmes que le gouvernement avait lanc\u00e9e dans le budget de l\u2019an dernier en vertu de son examen exhaustif des politiques strat\u00e9giques. On n\u2019y \u00e9nonce pas non plus de possibilit\u00e9s d\u2019\u00e9conomiser et de r\u00e9affecter les ressources \u201cafin d\u2019adapter les programmes et activit\u00e9s du gouvernement \u00e0 une nouvelle r\u00e9alit\u00e9 postpand\u00e9mie,\u201d \u00bb a ajout\u00e9 M. Giroux. \n\nDans le budget de 2023, on annon\u00e7ait cependant l\u2019instauration d\u2019examens de l\u2019efficacit\u00e9 des programmes \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9chelle du gouvernement, le premier examen portant sur la formation professionnelle et les programmes pour jeunes, et servant, le cas \u00e9ch\u00e9ant, \u00e0 d\u00e9terminer des am\u00e9liorations possibles, et on proposait de r\u00e9duire les d\u00e9penses en mati\u00e8re de consultants, d\u2019autres services professionnels et de d\u00e9placements.\n\nEn s\u2019appuyant sur les pr\u00e9visions du budget de 2023, le DPB affirme croire que le ratio de la dette f\u00e9d\u00e9rale au PIB devrait augmenter temporairement et demeurer sup\u00e9rieur \u00e0 celui de 2022-2023 pour les deux prochaines ann\u00e9es, avant de baisser progressivement \u00e0 moyen terme. \u00ab En d\u00e9pit de cette hausse, le gouvernement r\u00e9affirme son engagement \u00e0 r\u00e9duire la dette f\u00e9d\u00e9rale en proportion de l\u2019\u00e9conomie \u00e0 moyen terme \u00bb, a ajout\u00e9 M. Giroux.","release_date":"2023-04-13T09:00:00-04:00","is_published":"2023-04-13T08:57:11-04:00","internal_id":"COM-2324-048","permalinks":{"en":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/blog\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse\/pbo-releases-independent-assessment-of-budget-2023-le-dpb-publie-une-evaluation-independante-du-budget-de-2023"},"fr":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/fr\/blog\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse\/pbo-releases-independent-assessment-of-budget-2023-le-dpb-publie-une-evaluation-independante-du-budget-de-2023"}},"pivot":{"publication_id":739,"news_release_id":48}}