Ottawa

What the government knew about Old Age Security

On the Friday before the long weekend, the Harper government finally disclosed—three weeks after the opposition first asked for the figure—how much the proposed changes to Old Age Security were expected to save. As the CBC’s Laura Payton noted at the time, that estimate of $10.8 billion matched what a CBC reporter had been told on budget day.

The government’s figure is drawn from a preliminary estimate provided by the Office of the Chief Actuary. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions tells me today that “the Office of the Chief Actuary provided preliminary estimates to [Human Resources and Skills Development] officials before the Tabling of the Budget.”

The budget, of course, was tabled on March 29.

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