Better oversight through databases

While Parliament struggles with its primary task, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has launched a new website to organize government spending information.

The IMD is a structured database of budgeted and in-year expenditures listed by vote for each federal department and agency. Working with existing data sources, it is the first database that ensures congruence between the estimates and in-year financial reporting. The IMD permits legislators to identify significant variations in planned and actual spending, as well as key differences among fiscal years. This allows members and committees to focus their attention on areas that merit in-depth scrutiny.