Ottawa’s personnel and administrative costs on the rise

The Parliamentary Budget Office says the Harper government is allowing spending increases in areas where the Conservatives had previously said they would tighten their belts. Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page says the government’s administrative and personnel costs will continue to rise despite Harper’s pledge to review such spending in an attempt to balance the budget by 2016. The cost of “internal services,” which includes communications, human resources, IT and financial management, will increase by $235-million while personnel costs will rise by one per cent. Given these spending increases, Page has encouraged MPs to “seek further details” about how the government expects to achieve its planned savings.

Postmedia News