TORONTO, - Canada's senior governments have regularly missed budget spending and revenue targets during the last decade, with spending overruns of $47 billion combined, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In "Credibility on the (Bottom) Line: The Fiscal Accountability of Canada's Senior Governments, 2013," authors Colin Busby and William B.P. Robson rank the performance of Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments for hitting budget targets and providing transparent financial reports.
Each spring, legislatures vote budgets that set out their spending and revenue goals for the fiscal year, note the authors. Budget votes are critical for holding governments accountable to legislators, and in turn to voters and taxpayers. Over the last decade, however, Canada's senior governments have significantly overshot their spending targets. "More accuracy in hitting budgeted amounts would have made today's taxes and public debt lower," Robson points out.
