OTTAWA — Canada’s budget watchdog is cautioning Bill Morneau against potentially “cynical” accounting changes as the finance minister seeks to alter how federal deficits are calculated. The proposed changes come after the Liberals this week announced an unexpectedly high deficit of $26.6 billion. In an interview Thursday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said he was “concerned” about the proposed changes. Morneau did not suggest similar accounting changes in 2017 or parts of 2018, when interest rates were going in the opposite direction and gave the Trudeau government billions in free fiscal room. Herbert said Ottawa has officially launched consultations to possibly introduce the accounting change, similar to changes made in Australia and New Zealand.

Source: National Post December 20, 2019 12:00 UTC