OTTAWA— The federal government is letting spending climb in key areas where the Conservatives promised to tighten their belts, says Parliament’s budget watchdog.
The government recently revealed its overall spending is projected to fall $10.4 billion this fiscal year, a drop of four per cent from the previous year. But the government’s administrative and personnel costs are expected to continue to rise, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page said in a report released Tuesday.
Page’s office dug into the government’s so-called main estimates, which break down Ottawa’s spending plans for 2011-12.
The Conservatives pledged in their last budget to review the administrative costs incurred by federal departments and agencies. The results are supposed to be laid out in the next budget, which is due March 22. The review is part of the government’s plan to return to a balanced budget by 2016.
Page found the cost of“internal services” — spending on communications, human resources, information technology and financial management — are projected to increase $235 million.
The government also froze the operating budgets of departments in last year’s budget.
But Page notes personnel costs are expected to rise one per cent this year.
He suggests members of Parliament“may wish to seek further details” about whether the government’s planned savings can be realized, given that personnel costs are still rising.
Some reports on the government’s estimates focused on the impact of the Conservatives’ stimulus-spending program winding down this spring.
But Page points out only two of the 10 biggest changes in departmental spending can be attributed to the end of the massive stimulus package.
Postmedia News
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