Government Operations committee  On the first part of your question, on how will I get information from the CRA, knowing how to ask the question and what to ask for is often key. CRA is by its very nature a risk averse institution. They have the privacy of Canadians' tax information at the top of their concerns.

Government Operations committee  I would see it being probably a February budget. Having seen a couple of budget cycles in my life, I would say that it could be in January, but February would probably be the latest you could realistically have a budget and have funding or initiatives in the budget reflected in the mains.

Government Operations committee  Probably a bit later, if you leave enough time for TBS officials to include budget initiatives to be included in the budget, so that when the budget gets debated in the House shortly thereafter, probably sometime in early April, you have main estimates that fully reflect budget proposals.

Government Operations committee  Yes, there's one important drawback. It removes the government's flexibility to move the budget cycle to respond to unforeseen events. For example, if there is uncertainty in the world markets or if there is a financial crisis that has just developed.

Government Operations committee  That's a very good question. I wish they were, but it will depend on a couple of factors: number one, the number of requests that will be addressed to me in my office and, number two, the timelines through which these will be submitted to me in my office. For example, if somebody were to submit a request for costing an electoral commitment two weeks before the election and it's something that's very complex, it's unlikely to be completed on time for the election.

Government Operations committee  October 21? I've just shortened the campaign by two days inadvertently. Sorry.

Government Operations committee  The legislation clearly states that I can do that for recognized parties and then for independent members. Members that are part of a political party will have to go through their political parties. Independent members will be able to place individual requests.

Government Operations committee  It will become public once the political party or the independent member makes that political campaign commitment public. Until such time as the commitment is public, it has to remain confidential. When it's made public, then I will make the costing and the methodology public at the same time, or shortly thereafter.

Government Operations committee  It depends on the specific proposal, and on the number of demands placed on my office. If it's something very simple that seeks to amend a tax rate, for example, without any other changes to any other tax parameter, it's fairly simple. If it's an entirely new program that has not been implemented anywhere in a jurisdiction in Canada or in a similar jurisdiction, this would be more complex.

Government Operations committee  I think it's a very good idea. I think anything that can level the playing field, any non-partisan, unbiased information that can be made available to parliamentarians, is a good thing for them as well as for the Canadian public. That's why I intend to release not only the April update, but also one final economic and fiscal update in June right before the election campaign.

Government Operations committee  It is my intention, but it's still early days, so I can't say for sure that I'm going to do it. Can you give me a few days to get back to you on that? Let's say it is my firm intention to do it.

Government Operations committee  Personally, would I want to do that? I'm an economist by training, and I have been in the public service for 23 years, so of course I have an opinion on that. Can I actually do that under the enabling legislation though? I don't think so. My mandate is limited to estimating the cost of the parties' election promises when they ask me to do so, along with certain parts of their platforms.

Government Operations committee  Thank you.

Government Operations committee  Of course. I think it's been tabled in the House and in the Senate, and it's available on our website.

Government Operations committee  Thanks for the pep talk.